Fare Games
by heathnils
Summary: Tino was planning a surprise party for his boyfriend. He gets a surprise of his own when he discovers that Berwald was more than just a worker of IKEA. Someone's opted for revenge against Berwald and plans to make him suffer by means of Tino. Multiple pairings mentioned, AU, Human names used.
1. Not What Was in Mind

**Hey Peeps, here's the next SuFin story in was based on a CSI/Criminal Minds/NCIS and CSI Miami episodes... It's a mix of all them I guess... Hmm, well you guys read and enjoy**

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It was warm night of June, stars were out twinkling in the skies above and the crickets chirping in the night air. Tino Väinämöinen was driving down the road, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel while listening to a Swedish song play on the radio, humming along with it. He stopped at a red light in an intersection and trembled with excitement and anticipation. Tomorrow was his Su-San's birthday.

He was really, really excited practically trembling in his seat. He had a big surprise for his Swedish lover, thankfully, he was at a business meeting out of town for a week for Ikea allowing Tino to take advantage of all this free time to make a special surprise for his boyfriend of six years the minute he got home tomorrow. The light turned green, applying gas to the engine, Tino spurred forward until he reached a large grocery outlet.

He pulled into the parking lot and parked into a spot not far from the entrance of the store. Turning the engine off and pulled the key out of the ignition, he hopped out of his truck, looking proud in his white tee, faded blue jeans and simple sneakers, he walked up to the store with a spring in his step. He had a bright smile on his face as he walked through the automatic sliding doors and grabbing the nearest shopping cart. What happened there was nothing short of a blur.

Tino moved around the grocery outlet collecting the items on the list in his hand. His silver blonde hair bouncing as he skipped and hummed a simple song as he moved down the aisles, collecting the items and throwing them into his shopping kart, his slim yet feminine body twisting this way and that. His large violet eyes sparkled as they fell upon the last item on the list, salmiakki. His favorite, it wasn't for the party, no, it was more of a treat for him really. After throwing the last item in his cart, Tino whipped around and began moving to the nearest check-out counter when a voice snatched him from his thoughts.

"Hey Tino!"

Tino turned to look behind him and spotted a dusty haired blond with a strand of hair sticking up waving at him from at the bakery running up to meet him. His blue eyes full of energy concealed behind glasses, wearing a white tank top with cargo shorts and sandals. He skidded to a halt in front of the Finn. Tino broke into a smile, it was his friend, Alfred F. Jones.

"Hey Alfred!" He waved back.

"Whatcha doing?" He asked, pointing at the shopping cart, "Looks like your planning something, bro."

"Yeah!" Tino looked to the cart then back at Alfred, "Tomorrow's Berwald's birthday and he's coming home that same night! So I'm planning a big surprise party for him that he can come home to!"

"That's cool!" Alfred replied, "Maybe I oughta do something like that for Iggy... You know like, a uh... A surprise party! He's always gone on business trips for days on end, ya know."

"I know... They seem to always string together lately. I know Ikea's a powerful chain market now and all, but I'd like some quality time with my Berwald too." Tino sighed, drumming his fingers against the cart's handle, "So, I have designed a fool-proof plan to get Berwald to myself for a whole 2 months!"

"Really?" Alfred leaned in a little closer, lowering his voice, "What did you do?"

Tino looked around quickly, making sure no one was eavesdropping before turning back to Alfred and pulled a small envelope out of his back pocket, "I got these... 2 tickets to a two month cruise to the Caribbean... Just me and him till the end of July."

"Cool!" Alfred whispered before raising his voice to normal level, "But what about Peter and your pup, Hanatamago?"

Tino looked a bit embarrassed if not yet hopeful, "I-I was kinda hoping that maybe you and Arthur would look after them... Peter is Arthur's brother and all and I..."

"That's fine." Alfred smiled, slamming his hand against Tino's back causing the poor Finn to jerk forward on his cart, "We can look after Peter and your pup. I got the new Mario Bros. game and the Wii U, so he and I can have blast together on it. He's like a little bro-ham to me."

"Thanks Alfred." Tino said, rubbing his stomach, "Think you can be by my house at noon this Friday to pick him and Hanatamago up?"

"Sure thing!" Alfred smiled, "Well, I oughta head off and get what I came here for, my brother's visiting me so be sure to tell Berwald I said 'Happy Birthday', ya hear?"

"I sure will!"

"Well bye Tino! I'll see you Friday!"

"Bye Alfred!"

With that Alfred soon disappeared into the store in search for his item as Tino turned his direction back to the check-out line discovering that he was next in line. He began placing his items on the counter, watching as they were processed and placed in the paper or plastic bags before diverting his attention to the cashier.

"Did you find everything all right?" the young man asked as tapped various keys on the cash machine.

"Yep."

"Will that be all?" He smiled at Tino.

"Uh-huh."

"Alright then, your total comes to $48.09." He looked back at the screen, "Will you be paying with cash or credit?"

"Cash." Tino felt giddier with every passing second.

After paying the amount due to the cashier, Tino turned and began to collect his now purchased items and placing them back into the cart. He turned and waved to the cashier as he walked to the exit and the cashier waved back.

"Have a nice night!"

"You too!"

Tino exited the store and walked out to his parked truck. Unlocking the door, he quickly pulled the envelope with the tickets out of his pocket and quickly locked them in the glove compartment patting it gently. He turned back to his groceries and started placing them one by one on the flatbed of the vehicle.

"OHYAHH!"

As he raised the last bag out of the cart, the underside of the paper bag suddenly split open, spilling its contents to the ground, some rolling underneath the truck.

"Oh no!"

He dropped his knees as he began gathering the dropped items and placing them into the opened passenger's door as quickly as he could. He reached under the vehilce and grabbed the items that rolled there as he reached for a fallen pomegranate, his hand brushed against something.

"Hmm?"

He slowly grabbed a hold of it and pulled it out from under the truck, sitting on his legs and bringing it into the light, he discovered that it was a piece of paper. Upon examining it, he discovered that it had something written upon it he turned it over to read it:

_Berwald Oxenstierna,_

_You took what was mine many a year ago,_  
_now I'm taking what is yours,_  
_you'll suffer and atone for what you have done._

Tino blinked and tilted his head to one side, he was utterly confused. What did this message mean? Why was it for Berwald? What did Berwald take that he was to be made to atone and suffer for? Who was this person and how did he or she even know of Berwald? Why was it even under his truck in the first place?

He sighed and made to stand up, something wasn't right now. Maybe he should call Alfred, thank the gods he was in the grocery outlet right now. As he reached into his truck to grab his cellphone, he found himself forcibly grabbed from behind a funny smell being forced into his mouth and nose in the form of a cloth that was clamped tightly over his face. He struggled to escape the person's hold on him, scratching and kicking the person behind him with all of his might only to find that the funny smell was causing him to lose his energy and his conscious state.

His struggling became more faint as the cloth's smell began to finish its affects. Tino struggled to stay conscious as he was lowered gently to the ground. He heard a sound of something, a hand maybe, digging through a duffle bag, perhaps, as the world blurred and then soon everything darken.

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**Oh Noes! What happened to poor Tino? Who is this bastard and why did he kidnap Tino? :B**


	2. What Was Done

**Hello... Here's chapter two!**

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Berwald Oxenstierna was returning home from another successful mission. He was a well built male with messy light blond hair and sea-green eyes, wearing a black t-shirt with dark jeans and boots. He pushed his glasses up the bridge to his nose as he listened to his fellow comrades speak of their plans when they got home to their loved ones. He already knew what he wanted to do when he first gets home to his loved one.

He fingered a small velvet box in his hands, a small smile played onto his usually stoic face. He was going to ask his boyfriend of 6 years, Tino Väinämöinen, to marry him and become his wife, Tino Oxenstierna-Väinämöinen, he planned to propose this coming Saturday. He had picked his ring to Tino with a little help from his partners, Ivan, Arthur and Mathias while they were stationed in Nova Scotia, Canada looking for their target, he knew Tino was going to like it. He could still hear the others' plans for their summer holidays as they drove to Ivan's house to stay the night.

Ivan Braginsky was planning on taking his boyfriend of 2 years, Wang Yao to his homeland Russia to introduce him to his mother and older sister. Ivan was the same height and build as Berwald, but he had more of a round, childish face with a more prominent nose, his hair was a light beige-blond, and his eyes were violet, like Tino's. He wore a dark turtle neck with blue jeans, combat boots and beige-pink scarf around his neck.

Mathias Kohler was bragging to Ivan what he planned to do for his summer holidays. Mathias was a bit shorter than Ivan and Berwald, he was built well, showing it off in a simple white tank top, faded blue jeans and tennis shoes. He had wild blond hair and large but droopy blue eyes. He planned to take his husband of a year, Lukas Bondevik-Kohler and his brother-in-law, Emil Steilsson to a get-away trip to Jamaica.

Arthur Kirkland was boosting over their loud chattering that he planned to take his boyfriend of 4 years, Alfred F. Jones and maybe his baby brother Peter, to a around the world travel. He had messy, short blond hair and lime-green eyes with a slender build that was covered by a long-sleeved brown shirt with dark blue jeans and knee-high boots. His eyebrows were what made him strangely unique as they were very thick, prominent and usually dark.

Berwald smiled as they drove onward, trying his best to ignore the constant arguing/chattering amongst his fellow comrades. He did kinda feel envious of them, going to exotic places, he really didn't plan as to what he was going to do with Tino. All that ran through his mind was how he was going to propose to the Finnish man.

"So... Berwald, what do you plan to do with your summer holiday with Tino?" Arthur asked once they stopped at four-way intersection, "We have 3 months off!"

"Don't know yet." Berwald answered, looking to the English man, "I guess I'll figure it out when I get home."

"Go someplace sunny!" Mathias roared from the back seat, "More sunny than here, I mean. Like Jamaica or Mexico! Wait... Is Mexico really sunny and hot during the Summer season?"

"Of course, da." Ivan smiled, poking Mathias' cheek, "It's close to the equator. Everyone knows that, except you apparently. I take you failed high school geography? If so, then how did you get a job within the Guild?"

"Leave me alone." Mathias mumbled, pushing the Russian man's hand away as everyone burst out laughing, "Besides, high school was like what? 6-7 years ago? Who remembers all that was taught almost a decade ago?"

"Smart people?" Berwald offered.

"You guys are a bunch of pricks..."

The whole car burst into roaring laughter that even Mathias joined into as the light turned green allowing Arthur to move forward and closer to Ivan's place. After another 30 minutes had passed (as well as some bad puns and jokes), they finally reached their destination for the night. Pulling into the driveway, they were surprised to see Ivan's boyfriend Yao, sitting on a porch-swing holding a steaming cup before he stood up with a large smile on his face.

"Yao-Yao! I'M HOOOOOOOOOME~!" Ivan cried as he jumped out of the still-moving vehicle and ran up to the porch.

"WATCH IT YOU BLOODY DUMB BASTARD!"

Yao's amber eyes shone brightly upon the sight of Ivan running up the driveway, his arms wide open. He gently set his green tea down on the nearby table as he ran to meet with Ivan, his dark hair flowed behind him tied back in its usual ponytail as he was pulled into Ivan's bear-like hug. He wore a red mandarin jacket with large sleeves, white pants and black slip-on shoes.

"Welcome home, Ivan! It's soo good to see you again, aru!" He pulled away from the hug to share a brief kiss with his lover, "Did you bring me back a souvenir, aru?"

"But of course!" Ivan smiled, as he patted his pockets. Upon not finding what he was looking for, he almost face-palmed, "But of course, I left it in my luggage in the back of the car."

"Don't worry, Ivan... I'm in no big hurry, aru." Yao comforted, gently patting the Russian's back before turning his attention to the other three, "The guest rooms are made up for you three. Tell me, are you men hunger from that long flight and roadtrip?"

Four growling stomachs were his response as Yao tried his best not to laugh.

"Starving..." Mathias clutched his stomach.

"You don't mind, do you?" Arthur asked, looking at Yao a bit nervously, "I'd hate to impose..."

"No, no, no. It's fine. I made plenty for dinner tonight, aru."

"Really?" Ivan asked as he scooped the smaller male into his arms, bridal style, "What's for dinner then, da?"

"I made Szechuan chicken with fried rice and dumplings." Yao smiled, looking over Ivan's shoulder, "Help yourself to as much as you want boys, aru."

"ALRIGHT!"

"Thank you."

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Dinner passed with nothing short of color and sound as Mathias and Ivan re-began their bragging competition of whose vacation plans were better, it was long before Arthur joined in leaving only Berwald and Yao on the side-lines to laugh.

"MINE'S BETTER!"

"NO WAY!"

"MINE'S BLOODY COOLER!"

"KISS MY ASS!"

"OH IN THREE MONTHS' TIME, YOU WILL!"

"NUH-UH!"

Berwald smirked as he raised his cup of coffee to his lips and began to take a small sip. He watched as Mathias made a rude hand gesture toward Arthur as Ivan poked his with his fork, chuckling while Yao was struggling to control his laughter. That's when it click, he decided to call Tino and check in on him, let him know he was on his way home and he would see him in the afternoon the next day.

He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and quickly speed-dialed Tino's cellphone. He placed the celluar device to his ear, listening for the dial tone. He was suprised that he was put to voicemail immediately after hitting the green button.

_'Hi! You reached the cellphone of me, Tino Väinämöinen. I'm really sorry I couldn't come to anwser your call, but if you leave your name, number and reason for calling I'll get back to you as soon as I can, I'm really, really sorry. Thank you and have a nice day.'_

Berwald sighed as he pressed the red button to end the call, not thinking any different about his attempted call. Tino must be asleep or maybe he forgot to charge his phone the night before, he smiled. Silly Tino. He looked up in time to see Arthur beginning to mock Mathias on his views about the 'real gentlemen'. He smirked.

Everyone paused in their attempts to one-up on one another when they heard Arthur's cellphone ring.

"Oh, now what? We're not back until tomorrow," Arthur grumbled as he pulled out his cellphone. His smiled widen on the sight of the caller id, "Oh! It's Al. Time out guys, I gotta take this!"

"Welp, you all know what that means," Mathias smirked as Arthur flipped open his phone, "I won."

"Yeah~, over my dead body you did." Ivan smiled, "The day when you win anything is the day I become the pope, da."

"Bite me Ivan."

"Hello~?"

Everyone laughed as Arthur waved at them to lower their voices so he could hear and talk to Alfred, which was funny since Alfred liked to scream into his phone, regardless of the situation. As the voices lowered, Berwald could hear what was mix of a hyperventilating sob from the other end of the phone. The others seemed to have heard it as well, since the room fell deadly silent, now listening into the call.

"Al, sweetheart, you need to calm down." Arthur said, his brows furrowing, "Take a deep, deep breath and tell me what's wrong."

A shuddery reply was given. Everyone looked to Berwald upon hearing his name mentioned in Arthur's conservation. Berwald in turned looked to Arthur, puzzled.

"Alfred, we've been through this... Of course, I know Berwald and yes, I have his phone number," Arthur almost face-palmed, why in the world was Alfred crying over that? "In fact, he's right next to me... Do you need to talk to him?"

A pause.

"No? Then why the bloody hell did you call me, crying, looking for him?"

As the answer was given, Arthur looked even more confused.

"Message? What message? Why can't you tell him yourself, he's bloody right here, you damn wanker..."

Everyone was now watching Arthur carefully as he waited for his answer, his green eyes widen slightly.

"What about Tino?"

Everyone's eyes fell back on Berwald as soon as his lover's name was mentioned, Berwald's eyes widen at the sound of his boyfriend's name. He looked to Arthur who was looking back at him, looking nervous.

"Taken? By whom? What do you mean you don't know?!"

At those very next words, Berwald's coffee cup slipped out of his fingers and smashed into tiny pieces onto the floor, brown liquid spreading across the hardwood floor. He felt as though the ground below him had swallowed him, he could feel his heart stop beating upon hearing those words.

"When? H-How? Wha-" He took a deep breath. Everyone looked alarmed as Arthur quickly placed his phone on the table and put it on speakerphone. Everyone huddled carefully to listen to the story.

"Tell me what you know..."

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After his quick conservation with Tino, Alfred walked on past him as he re-started his search to find the item he was seeking, Coca-Cola. He didn't have to search very far as he walked past two aisles before coming to the 'Snack and Beverage' aisles. He turned right and found himself dazzled by the sight of the whole aisle, end to end, was carrying all types of sodas on every row, he walked until his eyes fell upon his desire.

"ALRIGHT!"

Grabbing a 30-pack case of Cola, he made his way back to the check-out area where he ran into Tino earlier to see the Finn walking out of the store, pushing the shopping cart in front of him. He smiled as he watched the Finnish man go, turning his direction to the cashier, who was waving at him.

"Hello sir. Did you find everything okay?" a young woman with blonde highlights asked as she scanned the 30-pack.

"I sure did!"

"Will that be all?"

"For now."

"Okay then. Your total comes to $9.12."

"Will $10 be okay?"

"Mm-hmm."

"AWESOME!"

"Your change," she smiled handing Alfred his change before waving, "Have a nice night!"

"You too!"

With Cola in hand, he made his way to the exit placing the receipt and his change in his back pocket along the way. He smiled and took a deep breath as he hit the outside world. It really did smell like Summer. He walked through the parking lot to head on his way home, since it was going to be a long walk home, when a black SUV sped toward and past him, almost clipping him with its side-mirror. Thankfully, Alfred moved out of the way in time.

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, ASSHOLE!" Alfred yelled at the rapidly disappearing vehicle, "DIDN'T YOU SEE ME WALKING HERE?! Dumbass..."

Alfred continued down his path as the car disappeared into the dark, huffing and flipping the bird into the night air after the car as he did so. Idiots shoudn't be given driver's licenses. He paused at the sight of a familiar looking truck at the end of the second row. Smiling, he approached the still truck upon seeing it in closer view, he realized whose car it belong to. Maybe he could get a ride home and cut his walking in half.

"HEY TINO!" Alfred waved at the darken truck, "I know this is sudden and all but you don't suppose you can give me a lift home, since you're still here and all..."

He paused as he grew closer to the truck, knowing immediately that something was not right. Smile faltering and approaching the truck more cautiously Alfred moved around to the passenger side, finding that it was opened and in the seat were the remains of a ripped paper bag and various grocery items. Something didn't feel right definitely as Alfred approached closer, gently placing his case of soda onto the concrete ground, looking inside of the truck. Nothing, other then Tino and his cellphone, seemed to be missing; the food items were there, so were the car keys and even his wallet. So, where was Tino?

As Alfred took a step back he heard a soft crinkle sound from under his foot. He looked down to the ground and spotted a piece of paper under his foot. Bending over and plucking the paper off the ground, he turned over to find that it had something written on it as he read it he started to feel himself panicking. He- He had to tell someone- Berwald! Someone or something had kidnapped Tino! He had to call Berwald and quick!

Alfred nearly face-palmed. He didn't have Berwald's number, only Tino, Ivan, Mathias, Feliciano, Lukas, Ludwig, Gilbert, Antonio and Arthur had his number. Wait- Arthur! That was it, that was his answer!

Quickly whipping out his cellphone out of his pocket, he pressed in a speed-dial number for his boyfriend, he felt scared to say the least. He relaxed slightly knowing that his Arthur will do something about it since he operated and controlled the entire land's Police force. He waited as the phone ringed, waiting and waiting, feeling his chest and throat ready to burst from holding back his fear.

_"Hello~!"_

Upon hearing the English man's cheery voice, Alfred burst into to tears and began to fill Arthur in on everything, pleading with the British man to do something! Anything!

* * *

After the phone call ended, Ivan had turned to Yao as the others made to stand. A look of regret clearly written on his face.

"I know I just got home, Yao-Yao," he took his lover's hands into his own, "And I promised you a time together alone, just you and I, but I must go."

"Why?" Yao asked, looking utterly confused, "How does this pertain to you? I understand he was your ex-boyfriend-turned-friend and he's dating one of your closest friends and all that... But couldn't Arthur and Berwald handle that? Arthur runs the police force after all, aru..."

"I-I... Yao, Love, I promise I'll explain everything to you later," Ivan sighed, cupping the Chinese man's face, "There's soo much in involved right now, da and granted, I-I should have told you the minute we started dating but, I was forbidden and-"

He quieted upon feeling a finger press against his lips, looking to see those large amber eyes study him carefully as though it was searching for the answer themselves. They soften as he leaned forward and replaced his finger with his lips. He pulled back as Ivan regarded him curiously, before he pulled the smaller male into hug.

"I believe you but promise me- just promise me that you'll come back to me in one piece," Yao whispered, nuzzling his face deeper into Ivan's chest, "Promise, aru..?"

"I promise." Ivan responded, tightening his grip on Yao, placing a gentle kiss on top of his head.

Ivan released his hold on Yao, placing one last chaste kiss on his lips and running after the other three to the car as Yao followed numbly behind.

"We need to get moving and FAST!" Arthur called, throwing his jacket into the car, as the other three quickly jumped into the vehicle, "We have a 6 hour drive ahead of us! Every minute wasted brings Tino a minute closer to Death!"

Yao waved good-bye to Ivan as the car roared back to life and peeled out of his driveway and down the road. He watched them go, before turning to the sky, silently praying. Praying that Tino was going to be okay.

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**DunDun DUN~~! D: I wonder what will happen next?**


	3. Patience

**There will be latin words in here as well as a made-up central hub. So bear in mind with me and all shall be explained soon. c:**

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When Tino regained consciousness, he had no idea how much time had past although he was dimly aware he was in the back seat of a moving vehicle. The very noise around him seemed to sound as though he was hearing it from underwater, his head throbbing lightly. He opened his eyes to take in his surroundings only to be rewarded with a wave of nausea, he quickly shut his eyes trying to will his stomach into relaxing before trying again, this time, slowly opening his eyes. Blinking his violet irises a couple of times, ignoring the bitter smell and mild headache, he discovered that he was sitting in the back of someone's car; in the trunk of an SUV or another large vehicle.

Fear was starting to creep up on the Finn as he attempted to move one of his hands only to discover that they were both tied behind his back with a string of hard plastic; a zip-tie maybe. Wide awake now, his fear was slowly increasing (rapidly) as he discovered that his legs were zip-tied as well. He started to say something, call out to someone, when he noticed that he was gagged as well; a piece of duct tape was covering his mouth.

These discoveries didn't stop Tino from struggling and making some form of racket by knocking over a large shovel. He was, to say the least, scared. Fear was starting to overwhelm him, take over as tears began to roll down his cheeks. He stopped upon hearing a dog growl menacingly and deep voice of man talking, he looked to the back of some seats to the general direction.

"Listen, I'll have to call you back," the voice said, Tino could hear the smirk in the man's tone. He felt scared, "Tuk woke up and you know how he feels about really short car rides... Silly dog thinks we're going to the v.e.t. everytime we go to the supermarket."

The car slowed to a stop as the man hung up on whoever was at the other end of his call. Tino trembled as he heard the car door open and close, leaving the car running, as footsteps sounded from outside, walking to the trunk door and humming a upbeat tune. He trembled as the sound moved to the front of the trunk door, cringing as the door opened and was lifted to reveal a man in his mid to late-20's smiling down on him.

He had short dark brown hair that was messily parted to the left side with a matching goatee, he was fair to tanned skinned. His hazel/brown eyes were glinting with a look that scared Tino. He wore a dark blue sweater, black gloves, black-gray striped scarf and dark pants, a large bloodhound sat next to him. He reached out one gloved hand and gently caressed Tino's cheek, wiping away the tears there. Tino struggled to keep the man's vile touch away from him, letting out a timid, muffled growl in warning.

"Hey Kitten, I was expecting you to wake up so soon." He chuckled, not fazed by Tino's sad attempt at sounding threatening, "Well, I guess with every great plan there's always that one flaw that attempts to screw you over."

Tino glared at the man as best he could, trying to look as intimidating as possible.

"I bet you're thinking, 'What plan?', right?" He leaned forward slightly, ruffling Tino's hair before tapping his nose playfully, "But I can't tell you just yet, Kitten. Instead what I want you to do is go back to sleep. Like a good little boy."

Tino continued to glare as hard as he could at the man, even though he didn't have a clue as to what he meant. His eyes drifted over to the man's other gloved hand, eyes widening on realization that in that very hand was a white cloth. The very same cloth that got him in this predicament. He struggled in vain to get away from that cloth, to keep from breathing in the funny bitter smell. He shook his head wildly from side to side as fresh tears started to make their presence known.

The man watched with utter amusement at Tino's attempts to avoid the cloth. It hard to believe that such a sweet and naive young man like Tino held such a wild and fiery spirit. After a while, his amusement died down, he really needed to get back home lest he wanted to be caught by someone with authority and questioned on why he had a human being tied up in the trunk of his car.

With his free hand, he grabbed a fistful of silver-blond hair from the back of the Finn's head and gave it a sharp yank, earning him a muffled shriek. Tilting the boy's head back he pressed the cloth into his face, watching as Tino's struggling began to lessen and his eyes began to droop and losing focus.

He released his hold on the Finnish man once he slumped back into his unconscious state. He watched the sleeping form of Tino for awhile until he reached up and shut the trunk door, concealing him from sight before turning to his faithful canine companion.

"Come on, Tuk." He patted his thigh, as he walked to the driver's seat, "We need to get home and prepare our special surprise for Berwald."

He smiled as opened the side door allowing the dog to climb back seat before shutting that door and opening the driver's door. He smiled as he closed the door and pressed on forward. Revenge has never felt this good.

"You and I are gonna have so much fun, Berwald." He smile darken, "Lots and lots of fun."

He looked over to the passenger seat where Tino's cellphone sat. He grabbed it on whim, forgetting exactly why he wanted the dumb thing in the first place that was until it started ringing. He knew Berwald called the device no less then a hour and half ago, looking for its owner just by looking at the caller id. He had then quickly pressed end, sending the Swedish bastard directly to voicemail. He picked up the phone, examining it in his hands before turning to his trusty dog.

"You know Tuk, that dumb bastard called almost 2 hours ago. Should we be proper hosts and return Berwald's call, boy?"

The dog growled in response to the man's question. He laughed as he set the phone back down on the seat.

"That's what I thought too, Buddy. We'll wait."

* * *

Two hours had past since they left Ivan's place and Berwald was starting to feel a little anxious if not scared. He kept checking his phone continuously for the time and anything from Tino, hoping that this was some sick joke from Alfred's end. Although if this was a joke, why would Alfred go all his way out to cry like that?

Berwald prayed that they would hurry faster home to Unitate. Time was ticking a lot slower then he originally would have liked. It didn't really help the group in any form when two large rigs decided to block their path.

"FUCK! YOU'VE GOT TO BE BLOODY KIDDING ME!" Arthur roared, banging his head against the steering wheel, "Of all the- WHY BIG-ASSED TRUCKS!?"

Berwald was struggling to keep his anger and fear under control, but with every waking minute stuck behind two large trucks driving side by side, he felt his control dwindle away to nothing. As Arthur swore at the trucks in both English and French (as well as making a few obscene gestures), Berwald realized that something wet had rolled down his left cheek. Reaching up to his face slowly, he swiped a finger across the skin and brought it up to the light; a tear.

Berwald couldn't remember the last time he cried. Maybe back in Pre-School, he wasn't sure. He looked behind him to the back seats as he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking into the worried eyes of Ivan and Mathias. Mathias tighten his grip on Berwald's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Berwald," he said, "We'll get him back."

"And kick that bastard's ass, da." Ivan smiled sadly.

"Whoever it is, they not gonna get away with this alive..." Arthur added, his voice laced with anger, "They are going to rue the day they decided to take Tino... Messing with us of the Hetalia Secretum Vigilum."

* * *

**Chapter 3 and tired... Geez, need to sleep... X3**


	4. Games and Tactics

**Hooray Chapter 4... Man, was it tense writing this chapter /1 Let me tell ya'... Aw, screw my rambling, enjoy the chapter.**

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After finally getting around the two rigs (flipping one of them the bird along the way) and then getting pulled over for speeding then let go since it was their superior they pulled over, they were an hour away from home. Tempers and adrenalin were at a all time high after 5 hours on the open road. Berwald was being to feel crestfallen, he was beginning to fear that he wasn't going to see Tino ever again.

He pulled out the small little velvet box and opened the small lid, revealing a small silver band sitting inside. A wave of sadness washed over him. He was going to propose to Tino this weekend only to find that he may instead have to bury Tino. He closed the lid, holding the box close to his chest his sadness turning into anger. He was going to make this bastard pay and pay big time.

Everyone jumped at the sound of a cellphone ringing in the tense silence of the car. After checking and ruling out their own cellphones, they all turned to Berwald who pulled out his cellphone and finding that it was indeed his phone that was ringing. He looked at the caller id, feeling his heart lodge in his throat; it read 'Tino'.

"Ma-Maybe he got away..." Mathias whispered watching the phone, "Tino was always the smartest one in our class..."

"Perhaps." Ivan muttered, he glared at the cellular device "Or maybe the kidnapper's looking for ransom. Trying to ransom off a dead body, da... Be careful, Berwald. It could be a trap."

Berwald nodded before answering his the call, raising the volume as loud as he could. He raised the phone cautiously to his ear, hoping to hear Tino's voice at the other end.

"Hello?"

He answered the phone like he would normally. His heart fell to his feet as he heard a voice from a the other end of the phone.

_"Hello Berwald Oxenstierna."_

This wasn't Tino's voice. No, it was too deep and filled to the brim with malice to be Tino's. Anger began to fill every pore in Berwald's body. No. This must be the bastard who was low enough to kidnap his Tino! He answered back, trying to keep his voice level.

"Who are you?"

_"Does it really matter?"_

"It does when it involves kidnapping..."

_"Harsh. You make it sound like it's a bad thing."_

"IT IS a bad thing."

_"Now, now. There's no need to be so touchy."_

"Where's Tino?"

He was well aware that the entire car was listening in on him now, seeing him explode. Arthur had pulled over to a shoulder on the road to give Berwald more hearing as he glared hard into the conservation, Mathias gripped the shoulders of Berwald's seat tightly while Ivan's face darken. The man didn't answer he instead just laughed, enticing an angry out burst from the Swede.

"WHERE'S TINO!?"

_"I see you're not one to be distracted."_ The man sighed from the other side of the line.

"What have you done with him?"

_"One question at a time, Oxenstierna. First, he's with me, safe and sound."_

Berwald cringed at the man's tone. Like hell he was, dumb bastard.

_"Second, I haven't done anything with him. Have I, Kitten?"_

Berwald jerked forward in his seat upon hearing an angry muffled voice and a creak of wood in the background; it was Tino. He sighed in relief that the Finnish man was okay but it didn't stop Berwald's anger from rising when he realized he gagged his Tino. Probably bound him too.

_"Happy now? He's fine... You wouldn't believe that for a kitten, he sure puts up a fight like a full-grown tiger."_

"I can't imagine why he would ever fight against you..."

_"Ah, sarcasm. You're funny, Oxenstierna."_

"What do you want?"

_"That's a good question... What do I want?"_

There was a silence that followed after the man's question. The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of breathing and the phone's background noise of Tino's struggling. After a while, the man on the other end answered the question.

_"I want to pay for what you have done to me, Oxenstierna."_

"Wha- What are you talking about?"

_"I guess we're going to have to play a game of charades to help you figure it out, huh Oxenstierna. I'm somehow guessing you don't recall alot from your service?"_

"Wha-"

_"Does it really matter if you know what I'm talking about? No, I don't really think so."_ The man was starting to sound irritated, _"Look if you prefer, I could kill your Kitten here and now and be done with it. I was even being a nice guy by not mentioning your secret job... Well, till now."_

"You-"

_"Yes, I know of your secret job as the Hetalia government's Secretum Vigilum, Oxenstierna. And by looking at Kitten's face, I take it you never told him."_

Berwald made a strangled sound that was a cross between a hiss and growl.

_"Hey don't get mad me for telling him. That was you're own damn fault for not telling him in the first place, or maybe it was your boss's, can't tell who it is to blame really."_

"You bastard."

The man didn't respond. What happened next caused the four men to jump and panic. They could hear the sound of a gun go off followed by a muffled wail on the other end of the phone. Berwald screamed.

"TINO!"

_"What do ya know, I missed. Lucky you, Oxenstierna that the bullet just grazed his cheek. I'd be careful as to how you address me though."_ Berwald practically hear the man smirking, _"Although, I have to say, he looks alot cuter looking at me with fear in his eyes and trembling from head to toe."_

"Don't touch him..."

_"Then let's try being polite, Oxenstierna."_

"Fine, Sir."

_"See? It wasn't so bad being polite, now was it? Tell me, Oxenstierna. What are your thoughts when you hear the words 'Scavenger Hunt'?"_

"Why does it matter?"

_"I ask because that's how we're going to refresh your memory. I somehow anticipated this from you. As you're aware your first clue was whomever called you in to report your Kitten missing. You can use any means necessary, have anyone help you and hell, you can even call me if you get stuck. You're smart enough not to needs clues, right? You work for a secret agency, you have access to all files at all times I would think."_

Berwald didn't answer.

_"If you can figure out what you have done and figure out where I am, I'll willingly turn myself in and release Kitten to you, unharmed. Deal?"_

Berwald took a deep breath before turning to look to others around him, Mathias, Ivan and Arthur. They all nodded gingerly, watching the Swede carefully as Berwald turned back to the phone. He took another deep breath.

"Deal."

_"Good. Hope to see you soon."_

The line soon went dead as the man hung up on Berwald. He snapped his shut and turned to the other three. They looked solemn, but understanding.

"So... What do we do now?" Mathias asked, looking to Arthur, "Do we go to Headquarters? I hardly doubt he's really gonna do any of that."

"We're going to see Alfred first." The English man replied as he propelled the car back onto the empty road.

"Why?" Ivan asked, bewildered.

"Because he was the person who called Tino missing in to us," Arthur replied, "Hopefully, while there, we can figure out what to do from there."

"Oh." Mathias exclaimed.

"If this is payback, then we need to figure out what is that Berwald did that would have made him mad in the first place." Arthur quickly glanced at Ivan, "I need you to get a hold of Eduard and tell him to meet us at my house. No questions."

"Calling him."

"Mathias, get a hold of Lukas and Tim. Have them meet up at the same place." Arthur directed, looking briefly look at Berwald, "Then call Emil and tell him to head over to Berwald's house, just say that Berwald's business meeting was extended, Tino's out town and Berwald needs him look after Peter and the family dog."

"Okay Dokey."

"Berwald."

Berwald looked up from his phone to briefly look into concerned green eyes before they shifted back to the road. Arthur patted his shoulder gently.

"We'll get him back. Don't worry."

* * *

Tino knew the minute he woke up and found that he was tied to a chair with rope and was bare-footed, he knew that this mean any good news. His eyes scanned the darken area around discovering that he was in a room filled with tables holding various electrical systems; computers, large hard drives sat on the floor, cameras and a few TVs here and there, filling the room with a translucent blue light. He jumped and glared upon hearing that bastard's voice.

"Morning Kitten. I was wondering when you were gonna wake up."

There he sat in front of the glowing computers, was the man who was ruining his life. Well, starting to ruin it; he wasn't half way there yet.

"Welcome to your new home." He gestured to around the room, "I know it doesn't look like much but its got that charm that makes it home."

He scooted closer to his captive, his breath brushing past his face. Tino shivered with disgust, turning his head away and trying to lean as far back from the man as the chair could allow him. He didn't want this bastard anywhere near him.

"It's gonna be just you and me for awhile, won't that be fun?"

Tino shook his head. No, it wasn't going to be fun.

"Since you're up, I guess we can both talk to Oxenstierna," he smiled, hovering his hand teasingly over Tino's face, "Although, you may not like what you're gonna hear..."

Tino paused to look at the man carefully when Berwald's name was brought up. He stared cautiously into the man's annoying smiling face. What was he talking about? Tino was about to voice his opinions when discovered that his mouth was still gagged. He growled.

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd mind either." He chuckled, pulling back. He pulled a cellphone out of his pants pocket. Tino's eyes widen; that was his cellphone. "You don't mind if I call him using your phone do you?"

Yes, he did mind. Tino struggled against his restraints, trying to free his arms. He so did very much mind.

"Aw, you're such a good sport Kitten." He smiled as he pressed a button on the small cellular device, as he scooted back to the computer desk, "Hey, look at that. You even put him on speed dial for me, you're sweet."

Tino hissed angrily, trying to kick the smug bastard only to discover that his thighs weren't the only things tied together, his legs were tied to the chair's legs, preventing any farther movement from them. Despite this discovery, he continued to struggle, trying to free himself from his tight predicament and maybe fight back.

"Hello Berwald Oxenstierna."

Tino didn't really pay too much attention to the man's talk with Berwald as he was busy to trying to free himself. He paused upon hearing a familiar voice yell at his captor for his whereabouts, he paused to look in the direction of the noise only to find the man scooting back toward him. He blanched.

"I see you're not one to be distracted." He replied, he stopped in front of Tino, smirking. "One question at a time, Oxenstierna. First, he's with me, safe and sound."

He reached out a grasped the Finn's jaw tightly in his hand, earning him a small squeak of pain from the Finn. He glared at the man as hard as he could.

"Second, I haven't done anything with him. Have I, Kitten?" He leered.

Tino tried to yell something comprehensible through his gag into the phone for Berwald to hear, with little success. The man smiled at the poor Finnish man's struggles, letting him go before returning to his conservation.

"Happy now? He's fine... You wouldn't believe that for a kitten, he sure puts up a fight like a full-grown tiger."

Tino scoffed at the statement as returned to the task of freeing himself. _Wouldn't you do the same thing if it was you in my position?_ Tino asked himself darkly.

Tino was beginning to feel the effects of exhaustion wash over him. This guy tied him up real good, there was no way to escape these tight knots without something sharp. Tino sighed and laid his back against the back of his chair. He might as well make himself comfortable and resign himself to his fate to whatever this man possibly could cook up. Hopefully, nothing too damaging or death related.

He was brought back to Earth up hearing what the man had said to Berwald next.

"Yes, I know of your secret job as the Hetalia government's Secretum Vigilum, Oxenstierna. And by looking at Kitten's face, I take it you never told him."

That was an understatement. Tino had heard of a group of assassins that lived among normal people called the Secretum Vigilum before, he knew they were a secret group that was hired and payed by the world's various governments to take jobs that normally involved eliminating or tracking someone. But Berwald wasn't one of them, he couldn't be. He told Tino he worked at Ikea as manager or CEO, something like that.

He was confused as well as shocked. Why would Berwald lie to him? His eyes harden when something dawned on him. Was it possible that this bastard was lying to try to throw both him and Berwald off edge? That had to be the answer. There was no other explanation.

He was so pre-occupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice that his captor's tone had changed. Sensing that the air around had grown tense, he looked up and found himself face to face with a gun. His eyes widen to the size of dinner plates as tears began to well up. He heard the gun go off, felt a sharp pain in his right cheek and let out a scream that was made into a muffled wail, snapping his eyes shut tightly.

He was dead. He was never going to see Berwald or Peter ever again. He should have had fought harder, but no. He gave up too quickly and now he was dead. He paused when he heard the man's dark voice ring out in the silence.

"What do ya know, I missed. Lucky you, Oxenstierna that the bullet just grazed his cheek. I'd be careful as to how you address me though."

Tino opened his eyes slowly, taking in the sights and finding that he wasn't dead. He let a shaky sigh in relief, his whole body was shaking, it was close call to say the least. He could feel the sting in his cheek as his tears entered the wound, he looked at the man, eyes wide and terrified as though trying to beg the man not to do it again.

"Although, I have to say, he looks alot cuter looking at me with fear in his eyes and trembling from head to toe."

His dark eyes shone with a glint that scared the poor Finn even more. Tino didn't listen to the rest of the conservation as he looked at the man in a scared manner. Why the hell would he attempt to shoot at Tino, purposely miss and not feel an ounce of remorse?

_It's because he's a monster_, a tiny voice in his brain told him. Monsters are incapable of feeling remorse or pity. _They only enjoy the feeling of watching their victims squirm and suffer._

Tino realized that his 'monster' had stood up from his chair and walked over to the trembling Finn. He smiled at the scared boy, he leaned over him as he chatted with Berwald. The man's smile seemed to match the look in eyes. Tino trembled under the man's gaze.

"Good. Hope to see you soon."

He pressed a button on the phone to end the call as his eyes still remained trained on Tino's face. Tino shut his eyes quickly, hoping that it would somehow persuade the man to go way. He heard the sound of something saw at the ropes on his ankles. He opened them quickly and looked to that he was on the floor cutting away the rope that kept his feet to the chair's legs. As he felt his legs being cut free, Tino had half a mind to kick his captor in his face only to be stopped at the sight of the man's face as he raised himself to eye-level with Tino. In his hand was a switchblade.

He lowered the blade to the ropes on Tino's torso as the Finn's violet eyes watched the blade's every movement. His captor had cut away the ropes freeing Tino from the chair, he moved forward and slung the startled Tino over his shoulder, standing up.

"It's about time I show you around your new home, Kitten." The man smirked, "Starting with your room..."

Tino didn't like the sound of that. A surge of energy shot through his body as he felt the dirty bastard trace a finger up the back of his leg before groping his ass. He started to struggle against the man's hold on him. No, no, no, no. He really didn't like that idea at all. He started to cry and plead.

"My name's Troy by the way, Kitten..."

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**Goodness! What's gonna happen to poor Tino? I'll leave that to your imaginations. Although we can all guess what's gonna happen.**


	5. Where To Go

**Sorry, for late update... Have been derping since I donated blood :B... Fun tymes. /1**

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They had reached Arthur's house an hour later pulling up into the driveway, parking behind Tino's truck as Arthur's boyfriend, Alfred came running out the front door. He ran down the beaten cobble stone path to the car, closely followed by another man who looked oddly like Alfred, except his hair was wavy with a yellow-orange hue, with an odd strand of hair that curled in front of his face, he had bright violet eyes that too, were hidden behind a pair of glasses. He wore a red jacket with a maple leaf on the front and dark blue jeans.

"Arthur! You're home!" Alfred pulled Arthur into a tight hug, his face was a mess. It appeared he stayed up all night crying, "Please tell me you got something!"

"I'm afraid not..." Arthur sighed.

Alfred sighed sadly. Was there any hope? He blinked as he heard three car doors open and close in a pattern, he looked in there direction and tilted his head.

"Iggy? What's Ivan and Mathias doing here?" he asked.

"Ah, yes," Arthur replied, trying to come up for a reason for their presence, "Al, Love, I need you understand that this involves a whole other world you don't understand."

"What are you talking about?"

"Trust me on this, Love. I promise I'll explain everything to you once we retrieve Tino safely." Arthur looked steadily into Alfred's wide blue eyes, "I promise."

Alfred gave his head a shaky nod, "Okay."

"Hey Matthew." Mathias smiled, "What are you doing here?"

"I-I was visiting my brother for the week." The Canadian offered weakly, "When I-I heard Tino was taken by an evil man. I-I'm really sorry Berwald."

Berwald gave Matthew a weak smile. "It's not your fault."

"I'm still sorry..." Matthew whispered, he looked back at Arthur, "I-I hope you don't mind that I called Gilbert, Arthur. He's coming here with his brother Ludwig... I-I told him not to... I-I only wanted advice on how to calm Alfred... But-but..."

"No, no, no!" Arthur suddenly said, surprising everyone, "That's actually good! Listen Al, Matthew, a few other people I know are coming over within the next 15 minutes. We'll be needing the basement and again, I'll explain everything to the both of you later!"

"O-okay..."

"I-If you're sure..."

"Why is this good?" Ivan was confused.

"The more people we have to help, more chance we have at getting Tino back."

"Oh!"

"How are people who have no experience with the field of crime like you do, going to help you, Iggy?" Alfred could feel hope escaping him with every passing minute.

Arthur sighed. He could feel that Alfred was losing his pep. He quickly pulled out a $50 dollar bill from his wallet and placed it into Alfred's hand. Alfred looked at him, confused as Arthur smiled at him.

"Love, why don't you and Matthew go to the McDonald's down the road and pick us all up 50 dollar's worth of dollar menu items." Alfred blinked. Arthur wanted... McDonald's? But he thought the English man hated the place and its food. "Be sure most of them are soda beverages, okay?"

"W-why?" Alfred couldn't make out Arthur's sudden change in tastes.

"Because we have a long road ahead of us." Arthur smiled, placing a tender kiss on the stunned American's lips, "And you told me the caffine in sodas would help keep a person awake. I'm going to give it a try."

Alfred clutched the paper bill in his hand and nodded, smiling. His energy and spirit seemed to have returned. He turned to Matthew.

"Come on Mattie. We got a big order to fill."

Matthew brighten at the sound of his brother back to normal, "Okay."

They trekked down the driveway, Alfred bounced with a every step as Matthew laughed. It was good someone had their hope restored. No sooner did the two brothers leave when two cars pulled up on the side of the road and five men clambered out of the two vehicles.

"What the hell happened that had you call us all the way out here, Arthur?" One of them demanded, "I have the summer off like you guys. This better be damn good."

He was tall man with a no-nonsense aura about him, with dirty blond hair that stuck up with the aid of styling glue, his eyes, although tired and annoyed, were a nice shade of green, over the right eye was a vertical scar. He wore his trademark blue and white scarf with a simple shirt and shorts that showed off his well-built body. His name was Tim Mogens. He too, was an operative of the Secretum Vigilum.

"It is." Arthur reassured calmly "I'm sorry for dragging you all away from your vacation plans, I'll gladly explain the situation once we are inside, in the basement."

"I heard from my awesome Birdie that Alfred was upset," said an albino man, "Something about a 'kidnapping' and 'not being a proper hero' or something like that. My brother and I came to talk to him."

He was a bit shorter then Tim and the blond man next to him. His hair was snow-white blond, with eyes of the purest red and skin that was a shade paler then everyone around him. He wore a black wife beater with worn jeans. While the man next to him looked more well-dressed despite it being the start of his summer off. He had his blond hair slick back with piercing blue eyes. He was just as tall and well-toned like Tim. They were Gilbert and Ludwig Beilschmidt, respectively.

"That's part of the reason." Arthur replied, "Once we're in inside it will all be made clear."

"But why do you need all of us?" asked a quiet blond, "Wouldn't the the three of you and the idiot suffice?"

"Norge!" Mathias cried, running over to pull the small blond into a hug only to be halted by foot in his chest, "Aw~. Don't you miss me? I know I missed you!"

"No... The house was so quiet, I accomplished alot while you were away." The Norwegian sighed, "Annoying."

"I love you too, babe."

The Norwegian male sighed as he brushed the strands of blonde hair from his face to the right, his dull blue eyes showed no emotion save for boredom. He wore a white tee covered with a red-hued flannel shirt and dark jeans. His name was Lukas Bodevik-Kohler.

A small glint in the rising sun's ray on Lukas' left hand caught Berwald's attention. Looking to the source of the shine, he saw the simple golden band that was wrapped around his ring finger, being twirled around it with his thumb; the very ring Mathias had used to propose and marry Lukas. As to why, no one really knew. Berwald placed his hand in his pocket and felt the little box that carried his to Tino. So far this was turning out to be the worst birthday he ever had.

"Ivan!" called a small narrow faced, simple looking dark haired blonde with green eyes and squared glasses, "I need help with my computer system. It's freakin' heavy."

"Then why did you bring it?" Mathias asked, "If it's so heavy?"

"Well, with a crisis like this I'll need everything in the techinacal field to find my best friend!" he answered as though this was the most obvious thing in the world, "I'm not gonna stand by and let Tino die!"

The man, Eduard von Bock, pushed his glasses into place as Ivan lifted one end of the hard-drive. He straighten his crispy button up shirt and the black slacks as he reached for the other end of the hard-drive.

"Oh, good. Ivan filled you in." Arthur clapped his hands together.

"Woah, woah, woah." Gilbert said, waving his hand to grab their attention, "I'm missing something here..."

"What's this about Tino dying?" Ludwig asked, he was just as confused. This wasn't what he had in mind when his brother called him. "I was just told that Alfred was upset about the loss of something and to see Matthew."

Arthur blinked before looking to Berwald.

"Let's get Eduard set up downstairs and I'll fill the two of you in from there." Arthur replied, "We have to hurry before Alfred and Matthew return with my huge order."

* * *

"So this unknown bastard thought it would be awesome to kidnap Tino to exact some form of revenge against Berwald?" Gilbert asked, massaging his forehead, "Not awesome."

"What do we know of him?" Ludwig asked.

"Not an awful lot old chap," Arthur replied, looking weary, "We only received one call from the slimy git and all we have to go on is that he knows about the Vigilum, its purpose and Berwald's involvement."

"So what does he want?" Tim demanded, "If he wants a fight, he's gonna get one."

"He wants me to pay for whatever I did to him." Berwald spoke up, "But I don't know who he is or what it is I did to him..."

"Eduard, pull up Berwald's file from our Guild." Arthur commanded gently, "Then see if you can hack Tino's phone to find his location."

"Yes, sir."

"How is it possible he even knew Berwald was a Secretum Vigilum member?" Lukas asked, even though he didn't show it, he was mad, "We're pretty good at blending in with civilian life. We don't even leave a trace of our 'work' for a normal being to find."

"Dunno." Mathias shrugged. "Maybe we actually have a target that's a lot smarter then we're giving credit."

"Perhaps." Arthur answered, "But we're not gonna rule anything out just yet. Eduard, did you get the files?"

"Yes."

"Good. Were you able to hack into Tino's cellphone?"

"I-I couldn't..." Eduard replied, he sounded ashamed, "Its frequency is being distorted, or altered. It's popping up everywhere on the map! I-I can't get a solid hit."

"He is smart..." Ivan said, he turned to Mathias, "Maybe you're right... Maybe we aren't deal with some rat off the street."

"Then this is going to be a problem..."

"ARTHUR! WE'RE BACK!"

A loud call from upstairs had caused all the men downstairs to jump a few feet in their seats. Arthur sighed looking toward the ceiling. It was just Alfred returning from his McDonald's trip. There came a knock at the door.

"W-We got what you requested, A-Arthur..." came a quiet voice, "Would you like it brought down to you or do you want us to keep them all on the table for you to collect?"

"You can bring them down." Arthur called, before turning to the others, "I hope you all don't mind McDonald's..."

"Nope."

"FINALLY! I haven't eaten anything since last night."

"It's fine."

"Meh."

"It's settled then. Ivan, Mathias, why don't you help Alfred and Matthew bring our heart-stopping snacks down here."

With an affirmative and sound of chairs being scooted across the polished wooden floor, the two men stood up and walked up the stairs and out through the door. It didn't take long for them to return with Matthew and Alfred in tow, carrying large bags and several cup holders with drinks.

"I didn't know what everyone wanted, so I bought one of each." Alfred smiled, setting the items onto the table, "But the drinks, I got 2 of each..."

"That's fine, Love." Arthur replied, taking one of the paper bags from Alfred, "Since you're here, I need to ask you something."

"Ok. Fire away, Iggy!"

"You know that car that you said tried to run you over before you found Tino's truck?"

"Yeah..."

"What did it look like?"

"Hmm... It looked like a Jeep Grand Cherokee, probably a 1999 model." Alfred crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling, "Didn't have license plates on it..."

"Where you and Tino when all this happened?"

"The Grocery Store Outlet. Just five blocks from here." Alfred removed his arms from the fold, placing one on his hip while the other rubbed the back of his head, "And... You've probably noticed... I kinda stole Tino's truck and the evidence..."

"Huh, that explains why it's in our driveway..."

At the blank looks he was receiving from the others, he quickly started to explain his reasoning, flailing his arms and panicking.

"It was an accident! I SWEAR! I-I know you're not supposed to take items from the crime scene but-"

"Love, it's alright-"

"No, no, no! Hold on,..."

He fished into his pocket and pulled out a neatly folded paper and gave it to Arthur.

"I got this!"

Arthur unfolded it carefully and read what was on it before passing it to Berwald. The Swedish man looked over the words carefully, feeling a surge of anger and hatred flow through him. He was going to get this man if it's the last thing he'd ever do.

"Gentlemen, I think I have a idea..." Arthur smiled suddenly.

* * *

**Dundundunduuuuuuuuuun!**


	6. What to Do

**Hey everyone! :D How's life all treating you?**

* * *

Tino's eyes fluttered open when the first sign of morning penetrated his room. The moment those violet eyes opened wider, he shut them almost immediately upon a large surge of emotions that washed over him. Anger, hate, shame, fear, pain and humilation. He buried his face back into the pillow that was provided, tears rolling down his face in torrents into the pillow as he sobbed into the plush of fabric.

Last night's events were etched so clearly in his mind; last night that bastard had his way with him after the 'tour' of his house. He raped him. Tino's body shook violently at the mere thought of it as a harsh sob escaped from his throat.

-** FLASHBACK** -

_He carried Tino, who kicked and screamed through his restraints, down a long hall with walls painted black and floors made of polished wood with long blood red carpet covering it. They came to sudden stop at one wall, Tino peered over his captor's shoulder as best as he could to see what had thankfully halted the man's process. From what he could see, there was nothing there but a piece of rope stapled to it._

_The lack of a door didn't seem to hinder Troy as he reached out and grabbed a hold of a piece of rope that was nailed to the wall and pulled, causing a small portion of it to swing open like a door, revealing a dark winding staircase. He smiled as Tino's eyes widen at the sight of the secret passage. It was like something out of a horror movie as they proceeded down the stairs in a rapid pace, Tino prayed silently, hoping that he would wake from this horrible nightmare. Oh how he wished this was all just a nightmare._

_"Here's where you're staying, Kitten." He heard Troy smirk, "I'd love to keep you upstairs with me, but what with me working mornings sometimes late into the night and bringing my buddies home, I can't very well leave you alone upstairs. Gods knows what trouble you can get into..."_

_Tino could feel fear and panic overtake his body. Troy had reached a large metal door, he opened the door and closed it behind him and flipping on a light switch, filling the dark room with dim light. It didn't take long for the two men to reach their destination, Troy smirked as Tino squirmed and struggled with more energy, pleading and crying through his gag._

_In response to the Finn's actions, Troy threw the Finn onto a large bed onto his back, causing a small yelp to escape. Tino looked up to see the man standing over him with a rather dangerous aura about him. He whipped out a small knife from somewhere tracing the cool metal against the warm flesh of Tino's cheek. Tino paled and trembled as the blade moved closer to his neck._

_"Now be a good little boy," He smiled as he removed the duct tape and the cloth from Tino's mouth, "And behave... It won't hurt. And who knows... You might even enjoy it."_

_"N-n-n-no..." Tino whispered pushing his back as far into the mattress as he could, "I-I won't..."_

_"Oh, but you will." Troy grinned as he lowered the blade to the ropes that bound Tino's knees together and started to slowly saw through them. "Now let's see how flexible you are, my little Kitten..."_

- **End of Flashback** -

What scared him worse was what would Berwald think. Would he still love him? Would he still want him to be around? Could he forgive him for being so weak? Would he leave him?

He'll forgive you. Whispered a tiny voice in his brain, He will always love you. He'll understand, if anything, he'll be there for you. I know it.  
He took a deep shaky breath as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, wincing at the pain in his lower back and legs. He shivered as the thin bed sheet slid off his body, exposing his nude body to the cool air of his 'room'.

His room was rather more like a very large holding cell then an actual room. Concrete made the walls and floor, leaving a small space for a lone window that had bars welded to it. On the right side of the room was a door that lead to the bathroom that Troy had 'graciously' allowed for his use. The other end of the room was a door lead to a way out, since that bastard would enter and exit from it, it was made of a strong metal and bolted with some form of lock that only Troy had the key for, leaving only a cat-flap door to allow small portions of food to enter. Tino felt more like a slave than a prisoner. A mocking laugh filled his head.

_"If you'd prefer, I could really make you feel like a slave."_

Tino shuddered violently as he continued to look around his new room. In one part of the room there was a shelf of books and art supplies to help keep the Finn busy when 'he' couldn't, in the other corner stood a table and a wardrobe that held clothes that he said were for Tino's use, that the small Finn wanted to keep as far away as possible. God knows what clothes that pervert had placed in there. He could still hear his dark voice.

_"In the wardrobe are some clothes for ya' Kitten. I'm not as evil as you think, I don't like the idea of my Kitten wearing the same ratty outfit day in day out. But you are to wear what I want you to wear, lest there be trouble. I'll leave a note on the wardrobe, you'd best heed it."_

He sighed as he stood up, ignoring the sharp pain that shot up through his spine as he walked to the bathroom. For someone who planned to make Berwald suffer by using a hostage, he was going all his way out to make sure that the hostage, Tino, was as comfortable as possible during the whole ordeal. As to why though, Tino had no clue. If you were planning revenge on someone by using the person they loved the most against them, shouldn't they suffer as well?

_"Come on. I'm not that evil, Kitten..."_

Tino brushed his tears away as he pushed the thought deep into the well of his mind. He didn't want to dwell too much onto the question, least he wanted Troy to change his mind and actually endure whatever it was he had in mind for Berwald. Might as well take it while the bastard was feeling generous.

He stepped inside the spacious bathroom, his bare feet padding the white-tiled floor as he came to a stop in front of the sink. Compared to the gray eating-your-hope-away color scheme in the bedroom, the bathroom had a more a white express-yourself-while-you're-in-here color scheme. A large porcelain shower and bathtub sat in one corner of the room separated by the a small wall that hid the toilet on the opposite side of the room. A small wardrobe sat against the wall next to the sink and small trash bin, that carried towels, shampoos, conditioners, body wash and other various cleaning equipment. Above the sink hung a mirror/medicine cabinet that Tino looked into as he walked by it, feeling a fresh surge of tears fall.

In the reflection in the mirror, he saw himself, a former shade of himself. The cut from the bullet wasn't the only thing there, bruises and cum stains littered all over his body with dark purple bite marks all over his neck and collarbone and his bottom lip swollen from a cut. He massaged his throat that was now beginning to sport a large purple bruise from when Troy had subdued him. The poor kid felt rather beaten.

- **FLASHBACK** -

_The minute Troy had cut the ropes that held Tino's hands behind his back was the minute Tino began to fight back. He tried to throw the domineering man off and away from him only to rewarded with Troy laughing at him. Tears flowed down Tino's cheeks, staining the bed sheet underneath him as he fought to keep the man and his pocket knife away from him._

_Troy crawled up the terrified Finn's body while Tino attempt to back away from him. Troy's smile grew wider as his hand crept up Tino's body until it wrapped itself around the small throat as he leaned in closer. He watched with amusement as he applied pressure to the boy's neck, smirking when Tino's eyes widen and he started gasping for breath._

_Tino began clawing at the hand on his throat, desperate to breath. He gasped trying bring air into his hungry lungs, things were made difficult for poor Tino as Troy covered his mouth with his own, pulling him into a, literally, breathless kiss. Tino's struggling became more frantic as his captor added more pressure to his neck, making it even more difficult to breath. He opened his mouth to plead with Troy only to have the bastard shove his tongue inside._

_Despite that his lungs and brain was suffering from the lack oxygen being pulled into the body, Tino had enough rational thought to feel the tongue explore every crevasse in his mouth. It felt really weird and wrong to have someone else's tongue, that wasn't Berwald's, in his mouth. He felt his heart beat faster, straining against his rib-cage as his vision began to blur._

_"P- ... Hah- p-please..." Tino choked, weakly grasping the hand around his neck, trying to pry the fingers off. "I-I... Can't- Hah... Can't breathe! P-P-Ple-Please!" _

_"Since you asked so nicely." His voice was mocking as he released his hold on the Finn's neck, "I guess I should comply..."_

_Feeling the pressure around his neck being lifted, Tino turned to his side and began to gulp air into his hungry lungs coughing and choking in the process. He looked up, breathing heavily as he massaged his throat to see that malicious grin spread on the monster's face. He trembled and released a terrified cry._

_"Cute..."_

- **End of Flashback** -

Tino turned the shower faucet on, placing it between hot and warm. He stepped inside the tub, feeling the warm soothing water rain against his skin. Washing away any shame the Finn was currently feeling. He grabbed a bath sponge and poured a good amount of soap onto it, rubbing it against his tender flesh.

Placing the bath sponge back onto the rack provided, Tino reached out and grabbed a bottle of shampoo. Pouring some onto the palm of his hand and lathering it into his hair, more thoughts ran through his mind as he absent-mindly massaged the soap into his hair. He leaned back into the spray of water and began rinsing his hair.

He shivered and gasped at the feeling of something leaking from his body, watching, with a mixture of relief and anger, as a white trail mixed with red escaped down the drain. The feeling of being full, disappearing. He grit his teeth in remembrance on how that got there in the first place.

-** FLASHBACK** -

_He could feel Troy's throbbing erection slid up and down his ass as the poor boy struggled and pleaded with his captor. Tears began a new wave as he felt the tip inch closer and closer to his opening he screamed and clawed at the man's face and chest trying to free himself from this horrible predicament. He just laughed at Tino's futile attempts to save whatever dignity he had left, pulling his body closer to his own, sandwiching the Finn's arms between their bodies and rendering them useless._

_"Why don't you make this easier for both of us Kitten and just submit..."_

_"N-No! NEVER!" Tino shrieked, flailing wildly against Troy's chest, "LET ME GO!"_

_Troy smirked and pushed the squirming Finn deep into the mattress lifting the lithe hips up. With a strong arm wrapped around the smaller male's back, holding him in place, he allowed his free hand to glide down the side of Tino's body. _

_"Relaxing will benefit you Kitten." Troy smirked, capturing the Finn's bruised lips with his own. "We don't wanna make this hurt more then it should, do we?"_

_Tino paled, sensing what was coming next and began to thrash and plead as though his very life was on the line._

_"N-n-no... No. NO! PLEASE!" He thrashed violently against his captor, but with little avail. His grip was too strong. "D-Don't do this... DON'T DO THIS!"_

_With one solid thrust, he entered fully into Tino's body and the Finn released a loud, pain filled scream. The pain was just excruciating, he wasn't prepared or lubed and Troy being thrusting into him, not allowing the poor youth a chance to adjust. Each thrust made Tino feel that he was about to be split in two. Something warm and wet began to flow down his legs, he knew immediately it must be blood._

_"Please! Stop, s-stop!" Tino cried weakly beating his trapped fists against the man's shoulders, "I'm bleeding! You've torn something! STOP! STOP IT!"_

_"So you are..." Troy grinned, pausing briefly, "You poor thing."_

_"Please... It hurts. IT HURTS!" Tino cried, tears now flowing into rapids, "TAKE IT OUT! PLEASE TAKE IT OUT! IT REALLY HURTS!"_

_"Not till I had my fill," He laughed, "Gods, you're tight."_

_"What- AH!- Y-You're taking what's rightfully Ber- NNGH! Berwald's." Tino argued through the pain.._

_"So I am." He smirked, trailing his tongue up the tear trail to one of Tino's eyes, "And to think Oxenstierna claimed you as his prey. A shame really..."_

_"P-Prey? Wh-What?" Tino stopped struggling to look into the eyes of his rapist, trying to comprend his logic. What was he talking about?_

_"Yes, 'Prey'." He grinned, thrusting into the small Finn harder and faster, earning a strangled cry. "You see Kitten, the world is divided by two groups of people..."_

_Tino cried as he felt the bastard pull back, leaving only the tip before plowing back into him. At least his blood acted as a lubericant, making the pain more bearable._

_"One group is known as the 'Predator' group. Predators like Oxenstierna and I." He relished in the joy of watching Tino's face controte in a mixture of emotions, "We hunt the second group, known simply as the 'Prey'. People like you, Kitten."_

_"I-I- Ah-h-h... I'm not p-pr- Oh! Prey!"_

_"Oh... But you are." His smile widen and darken. "You're weak. You're easy to capture, easy to manipulate, easy to toy with. You need someone stronger to protect you, a 'Predator' like Oxenstierna. Once he's left you on your own, even for a second, you are left vunerable, left exposed to other Predators... Like me."_

_"Y-You bastard." Tino retorted weakly, "I'm not easy prey!"_

_"I dunno... I managed to capture you easily." He smirked against the boy's collarbone._

_"That's b-b-because you use- Nngh!- an unfair m-method."_

_"How else would a predator eat?" He looked at the boy's tear-soaked violet eyes, "You can deny it all you want Kitten, the truth will remain. You. Are. Weak."_

- **End of Flashback** -

He cupped his hands together and placed in under the hot water allowing it to pool before splashing it onto his face, washing away the dried blood and semen. He decided then and there, he was no longer going to cry. He was going to harden his heart and remain strong until Berwald came and whisked him away from his hell. He knew Berwald was going to rescue him in the end, he smiled, despite what Troy said, Berwald will save him. He was not going to give this man the satisfaction that he had him. NEVER.

He shut off the water and stood there as he watched the remaining water escape down the drain. After about 15 minutes, Tino stepped out of the shower and pulled out a small towel and wrapped it around his waist before exiting the bathroom. He walked into his room, walking to the bed, he blinked when he realized that something was missing. His clothes.

He searched everywhere in the almost bare room, getting onto his hands and knees but not finding any signs of his torn shirt or jeans. He blinked before letting out an angry huff. Of course. The bastard took them and got rid of them, in order to force the Finn to wear whatever it is that he had for him in the damned wardrobe. Dammit.

Cautiously, he got back onto his feet and padded over to the furniture of taboo, eyes narrowing dangerously. As he reached the wardrobe, he noticed that there was a piece of paper taped to the large hand crafted box. He tore it off and read what was written on it.

_Kitten._

_If you're reading this, I congratulate you on being smart on your part._  
_You are to wear the little cute maid dress. Second one to the right._  
_You either comply or the worst will happen._  
_See you at 7._

_-Troy_

Tino crumbled the note in his hand in anger as he glared at the box of wood. Now he was convinced that he really more of a slave then a prisoner. Damn this bastard and his mind games. But he had to obey least he made Troy keep his word. And he sure wasn't going to take the optimistic view that Troy would be bluffing.

Shuddering, he reached out for the handle, wrapped his hand around it and opened it. Inside the wardrobe hung many various outfits that ranged from flirty to skimpy that took all of Tino's willpower to not choke. Sure he wore these type of clothes before, but he wore them for Berwald, and solely for Berwald only, he never wore them for any other purpose. He sighed darkly and selected the outfit that the bastard wished for him to wear.

_Forgive me Berwald._

* * *

**Ta-Dah! Poor Tino... Don't worry this is only the beginning. Man, I'm tired. Derp :B**


	7. Cheap Shot

**Sorry for the long wait... Lot of stuff was happening this week /3 But it's worked out in the end wouldn't ya' say?**

* * *

"What have we got?"

Arthur went down the stairs to his basement as he carried in a box of files, asking as he went. It was been 13 hours since they last heard from the kidnapper and the work pressure was too much. Eduard was able to hack the security cameras at the grocery store, showing three separate clips on three of the five computer monitors.

One screen had a paused image of the automobile that Alfred had described that nearly clipped him. The second computer had a paused image of a dark figure sneaking up on a unsuspecting Tino, and the third computer played loop of the wanted car parking a couple of parking spaces down right after Tino parked the truck and started walking away until it reached the scene where it nearly ran over Alfred, who flipped it off before it replayed again.

"Nothing." Mathias replied as he and Ludwig shuffled through some documents, "All we're getting is that Berwald has been in over 200 missions in last 12 years."

"Does any of them stand out?" Arthur asked, setting the box down in front of them.

"Nein." Ludwig sighed.

"Damn. What do you guys have?"

"From the looks of the camera feed, it looks as though this person had anticpated every move Tino made, right up to the store." Eduard replied, adjusting his glasses, "Unfortunately, he kept himself well clothed and hidden in the dark. I can't get a clear image on him."

"More like he's anticipating our movements." Arthur growled, "Can you estimate how long he may have been planning this?"  
"Hmm..." Ivan looked up at the wooded ceiling before looking back at the note, "It's too early to tell. I'm going to need more clues in order to give you anything."

"Bloody hell."

In all this commotion and noise, Berwald sat in a chair near the computer that showed the replay loop and cradling his cellphone, not paying anyone a single mind. He felt so helpless, useless and hell, even pathetic. He placed his head into his hands. He had let this happen, he had let Tino get kidnapped, he allowed whatever enemy he made to take the one thing that mattered most to him and allow him to use him against him. He wasn't careful enough and now Tino might be forced to pay the ultimate price. This was the very thing that the Guild had warned him about.

In short... This sucked. Balls.

He was at a total loss as to what to do. Which, from his stand point, was kind of sad considering that he was trained as a spy/assassin since he was 12, meaning, he was trained to expect these sorta things to happen. It really made him feeling, if anything, worse. Dammit.

"Hey..."

Berwald looked up to find himself face to face with Lukas, who regarded him with the same emotionless state but with a hint of fire. He placed his hand into Berwald's, gripping it softly as he stared steadily into his eyes. Berwald sighed.

"It's going to be okay." Lukas replied, gently squeezing the large hand, "Everything's going to work out... I promise."

"Hmm." Berwald gave him a rare small smile. It was funny really, that someone as emotionless and reclusive as Lukas, could be so gentle and comforting. He squeezed his hand back. "I can only hope."

Lukas flashed him an equally rare gentle smile that quickly reverted back to its usual frown once they heard Ludwig call over to them.

"Lukas, can I get your help sorting these documents?"

"Sure."

With one last gentle squeeze of the hand, Lukas turned and walked off over to Ludwig and Matthias; his hand slipping out of Berwald's. Berwald watched him before turning his attention back to the computer screens, returning to his original thought process. There had to be another hint somewhere that help him identify his culprit. But what?

He stared hard at the screen, replaying the conservation they had in his head while he watched the video feed loop. What could they use that can help find this bastard and beat the ever loving shit out of him and maybe pull a 'Vash Zwingli' on him? There just had to be something they overlooked. But what was it?

* * *

Night had fallen and the clock had struck midnight when Arthur decided that they should retire for the night. Berwald was a bit hesitate to leave the chair he sat in for a while until Lukas managed to reason with him into leaving the chair and going into bed for the night. Berwald stood up and followed the rest of the gang to the upstairs level where they were met with the worried faces of Matthew and Alfred.

"You found something yet?" Matthew asked, looking ever so hopeful, "P-Please tell me you found something..."

"Nein Birdie." Gilbert sighed, "All we got was that this is one sly bastard."

"Oh..."

"I made up the guest beds." Alfred said, wrapping his arms around Arthur, "I can show you to your rooms."

He detached himself from his Iggy and lead the group into the 2nd floor of their house, pointing out to each of them their rooms. Mathias and Lukas had the first room on the right, Gilbert and Matthew were sent to the first room on the left. Alfred lead the last remaining guests back downstairs, down another hallway. Placing Ludwig and Tim in one room one the left while Ivan and Berwald were placed in the room on the right, across from the left.

"You don't mind sleeping in a room by yourself, do ya Eduard?"

"Not at all." Eduard smiled, "Thank you for generous hospitality."

"No problem, brah."

Berwald's mind seem to drift elsewhere as he and Ivan began to prepare for bed. The Swede giant took his time with unpacking, readying himself for bed whereas Ivan already doned his sleepwear (and scarf) and began to settle himself in his bed for sleep. Berwald in a way, envied the giant Russian man, he was able to get a good night's sleep regardless of the current events that were happening.  
His thoughts were derailed once again upon hearing his cellphone go off in his hands. His eyes widen at the sight of the caller ID.

"If it's Emil, tell him I don't know!" Mathias called from upstairs, "I'll have the answers when I get them!"

"Is it Emil?" Ivan asked, looking over at the Swede.

"No..." Berwald answered, anger lacing his voice, "Its the bastard. He sent me a text."

"A text?" Ivan's head jolted, sitting up and feeling wide awake, "Quick! What does it say?"

" _'Look at what I got'_..."

"_ 'Look at what I got'_?" Ivan deadpanned. "What's that suppose to mean? We already knew he had Tino..."

Berwald shrugged, unsure himself. What did the douche have to use against him other then Tino? His question was answered almost immediately upon the next text that followed it. A picture text. Was it to mock him over the fact he couldn't protect Tino? Only one way to find out. He opened the text.

The minute the image appeared on the phone's screen, Berwald felt a surge of anger he had never felt for any human being before in his entire life. On the screen image was Tino, doned a maid's dress, a long sleeved dress that reached to the knees, the sleeves puffed a little to the shoulders before melding to the arms and covered with white cuffs. A white collar was wrapped around his neck that supported a black ribbon. A frilly white apron was wrapped around him with a large white ribbon made into a bow with a matching headdress, frilly white petticoat lined the edges of the black dress, fluffing it out. Adding the black polished high-heeled shoes with buckles that wrapped around his ankles and white stockings, they just screamed fun in the bed. Although that wasn't the likely case.

What made Berwald even more angrier was how his poor Finnish lover was laid out. His arms were tied tightly, his wrists and elbows were bound together behind his back, his mouth was held wide open by a belt that was tightened around his head. He was laid out like was he was nothing more then an invitation to play. His eyes were adverted looking anywhere but the camera, blushing a deep red color. He looked more angry at something else; probably his kidnapper.

"Berwald? Is something wrong, da?" Ivan seemed hesitant to approach the trembling Swede. He reached a hand slowly out and gently grasped the Swedish man's shoulder. "Berwald?"

"That son of a BITCH!"

Ivan jumped back as Berwald threw his phone in sheer anger at the wall, putting a dent in the wall where as the phone came out unscathed. Ivan looked to the phone then to Berwald, a bit hesitant before he plucked the cellular device off the floor just as it rang with another text message.

"What's it say now?" Berwald seethed through his teeth.

"Uh... It says _'A maid must always be properly disciplined if you hope to truly control them.'_." Ivan blinked and looked up at the angered Swede, "What does he mean by that?"

"How dare he..." Berwald felt the anger boil deep in his veins, "HOW DARE HE?! That- that bastard."

"He was talking about Tino... Wasn't he?" Ivan's face darken, clutching the phone tightly in his hand. "What did he do to poor Tino?"

"I'd rather not say..." Berwald growled, his face lowered to obscure his vision. "All I want is to beat this asshole into the ground."

"Don't worry... You will. We all will."


	8. Frames

The worst birthday had soon became the worst weekend of Berwald's life. Not only did he show a photo of Tino to bring the Swede's blood to a boil, but deep down (and he was probably right about this) he knew the nameless, faceless bastard was laughing at him. After sending the photo he sent Berwald another message somewhere around 5 in morning listing an address. When Arthur had sent Tim and Ludwig to investigate, they came back and report that the address was nothing more then a distraction. All that was there was an abandoned building scheduled to be demolished.

In a rare show of anger, Berwald had seized his cell phone and chucked at the wall, once again; this time destroying it. The kidnapper somehow sensed this event and called Berwald through Mathias' phone to confirm his guess and then laugh at him as he hung up, increasing more of Berwald's ire. It had been two days since they last heard from the man and he was thankful Mathias was willing to give him his cell. Saturday rolled around into the early morning light, he went through his and Tino's truck to find any other evidence they may have missed, finding nothing but a clean car and a locked glove compartment.

Berwald popped it open with his spare key and began searching the small built-in compartment. On top of the piles of papers, napkins, glowsticks, various licenses and the truck's handbook was a small envelope that had lavender colored ink written by Tino's hand on its front;

_Happy Birthday Berwald._

Berwald carefully picked up the envelope and studied it over in his hand, shaking it and finding that it had been sealed and from the sound of its rattling, there was something inside. Pulling out a small pocket knife from his back pocket, he carefully sliced the top off the envelope, and opened to find two thick slips of paper waiting inside. Curious, he pulled them out for further examination to discover that they were two tickets to cruise in the Caribbean that sailed just this morning. They were to leave the very day Berwald planned to propose. Somehow, that would have been fitting.

Berwald leaned his back into the passenger seat as silent tears escaped from his eyes. Tino was looking forward to spending the summer holidays with the Swede as much as he did. A harsh sob escaped his lips as he cried.

* * *

Saturday soon became Sunday that then rolled into Monday, Berwald didn't tell the others the discovery he made in the truck, feeling that somehow that was personal matter. 4 days had passed by then and Berwald felt anxious. Arthur had managed to find and obtain reports of Tino's complaint to officers about a shady person stalking him for the past 2 years ago, reports that Tino mentioned to him. Although the reports lead to various dead ends, as Tino couldn't see the man through the darken glass of the car window, watered down windows and etc., it helped the case somewhat slightly.

"So, now what I'm getting is maybe a snapped one-sided romance thing." Ivan sighed placing the folder down. "This is beginning to look like a case where this man is still in love with Tino. He probably found it hard to express himself and took a hard blow to his ego when he heard Tino was dating someone else."

"How do we know it's the same guy?" Mathias asked, resting his head on his folded arms, "The guy stalking Finny 2 years ago kept himself hidden with tainted car windows and the asswipe that has him now kept himself hidden from the camera's view. How are you sure?"

"For once, I agree with the idiot." Lukas replied, "All we have to go on with is the note and the various case folders."

"Work with me." Ivan shrugged, "But if I look back at the note for a minute and then look at the folders, they look the same."

"How?" Gilbert asked, "I might be awesome but, even I'm lost."

"Let's look at the note." The Russian man answered, pulling out the slip of paper, "We have already grasped by reading the final line that this is an act for revenge, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"In the second line he wrote 'now I'm taking what is yours'. Here, he likely meant Tino, as Tino was the only thing that has ever really mattered to Berwald."

"Okay..."

"So the first..." Tim began only to be cut off by the Russian man.

"Correct. In the first line, he likely meant that Berwald stole Tino out from under him and he's come to take back what he rightfully believes is his."

"And how do the case files work in all this?" Lukas asked, "The guy in files didn't start stalk our favorite derp until 2-3 years ago... We don't even know what he looks like."

"Funny thing about people like our kidnapper." Ivan mauled, looking to the ceiling. "He would be your average day guy. Normal, friendly. Someone you wouldn't think twice about, someone who just blends in."

"Creepy..." Mathias replied.

"Yes."

"So, everyone is a liable suspect?" Ludwig asked.

"Not everyone." Ivan replied, "We're going to narrow the search down. Berwald!"

Berwald looked up the minute his name was mentioned, staring into those bottomless violet eyes.

"Tell me. Have you ever seen someone acting stange around Tino or you? They're sweet till they see you and act aggressive. "

"Nej."

"Has Tino mentioned someone strange acting around; charming, maybe a little hostile every time he's attempted to get away?"

"Nej."

"That helped."

"No. No it didn't."

"Maybe a new approach?" Arthur suggested.

"Like what?" Mathias asked.

"Let's focus again back on the 'revenge'." Arthur stated. "How many forms of revenge do we know of?"

"Payback?" Gilbert suggested.

"Retribution?" Eduard offered while adjusting his glasses.

"Retaliation?" Ludwig declared.

"Vengance?" Mathias replied, grinning.

"THEY ALL MEAN THE SAME THING, YOU BLOODY WANKERS!" Arthur roared, "I MEANT WHY REVENGE IS MADE!"

"Oh-" The group replied in unison.

"They are mostly carried out by someone who wants to get even with other simply because they either killed someone they loved and weren't punished for it." Lukas stated. "Other forms include being made into a social outcast, wanted justice and/or to get even embarrassing or humiliating one."

"**THANK YOU** Lukas." Arthur smiled at the Norwegian man, "That was what I wanted." He turned to Berwald, "Now tell me Berwald, did you do either one these to someone? Other then killing option... That doesn't count now."

"Nej." Berwald shook his head.

"Are you kidding?" Mathias asked incredulously, "**BERWALD** was a social outcast until Middle school where Tino and I came into his life."

"The revenge for the death of someone seems like a logical explanation." Eduard said, gazing up to the ceiling. "But what about the stalking claims?"

"Perhaps a 'resentful stalker'." Ludwig suggested, "I had to deal with one of those 5 years ago. Our kidnapper sounds similar to Anore."

"Pull up the file and we'll decide from there." Arthur sighed before he gave Berwald a harden look, "Berwald. You and all of us need to swallow the pride in us and ask the bastard for more clues. Don't look at me like that. It's the only way we can save Tino now."

Berwald sighed. It was true. There were no other options for them to take. Slowly he pulled out Mathias' phone.

* * *

**Man... For some reason I made this sound real lame. Review and let me know what you think :3**


	9. Company

Time sure flew when one was fighting and for that, Tino felt pretty damn proud of it. He had been stuck in his Hell for 4 days and was he losing faith in Berwald? No way! He knew Berwald was going to save him. This bastard can't keep leading Berwald and the others in the wrong directions forever, soon his handsome prince was going to see through that facade and get Troy and rescue Tino.

Tino sat at the desk that was in his 'room' as he drew various pictures to entertain himself, drawing Moomins to him and his family. He was pretty good artist, drawing his family life-like; all based on his memory. He stiffened when he heard the lock clink before swinging open to allow Troy inside. Tino briefly looked at him long enough to register that he was in a good mood about something, but from earlier experiences that wouldn't stop the man from raping him. So Tino settled for the usual greeting he conjured the courage for.

"What do you want, you awful monster?"

"Oh- Don't be like that, Kitten." Tino could hear the bastard smirking. "I got the day off just to see you and all you do is wound me with your bites. What's up with that?"

Tino scoffed.

"Well, hear me out my delectable little Kitten," Tino shuddered under the man's implications, "I couldn't help noticing that while I'm running your boy toy and his gang around in various ways and hang with my buds, you're down here all alone..."

"So?" Tino growled, "Is that not what you want from me? My suffering?"

"Hey, hey now. Don't make an ass out of me yet." He smiled as walked over and placed a hand on that abused throat, massaging it as he buried his face into Tino's soft locks. "So- I was thinking of getting you a playmate. Someone to keep you company while I'm working those horrible long hours."

Tino froze, his purple eyes wide.

"And I'll even let you pick which one of your friends can stay with ya'." He kissed the top of Tino's head. "How's that sound?"

"That's awful!" Tino seethed, snapping the pencil in his hand in two. He turned to face his molester, "You stay away from my friends, sairas paskiainen!"

He attempted to swing his arm around and clock him to make his point, only to have Troy catch it with a sunny smile on his face, before twisting it around his back and forcing the poor Finn to bend over the desk. Tino tried to lift his head off the desk only to have Troy keep it firm grip on the back of his head. He bent over Tino, his face close to Finn's angry one, his smile was starting to get creepier and creepier by the second. But there was no one Tino was going to let him know that.

"You should be thankful that I'm being this considerate, Kitten." He trailed his tongue across Tino's jawline reaching his ear and began nibbling on it. "I told you I'm not all that evil..."

"Like hell you're not!" Tino struggled against the man's strong grip. "You're going to put them through the same hell you did with me!"

"Not if you're smart."

He released his hold on Tino, watching with fascination as his Finnish prey turned slowly to face him; his face twisted with a mixture of anger and fear.

"Y-You wouldn't-"

"I would, Kitten." He held out a large folder to Tino that he seemed to have produced out of thin air. "In this folder is list of each and every one of your little friends. I'd pick wisely if I were you, you have an hour. Please take your time... I'm in no hurry."

That confirmed the Finnish man's belief that this jerk really had stalked him. To retaliate, Tino snatched the folder out of the man's hand, looking at it briefly before chucking it into Troy's chest. Papers exploding from the confines of their folder and spilling all over onto the floor, Tino smirked. It was wiped away fairly quick from his face when he saw that Troy wasn't too bothered by it just standing there and grinning.

"Aaw- You want me to pick for you?"

"EI! I won't pick anyone and neither will you!"

"Okay then." He bent down and picked up the first paper he saw on the floor. His smile grew darker. "Oh- Good choice..."

"Wha-"

Tino paled at that look. He shook his head frantically and ran to Troy hoping to claim the paper from him. He watched with amusement as the poor Finn tried to save whomever's soul he had selected to join Tino in his torture. He soon grew bored, pulling his free hand back, he back-handed Tino away from him, causing the poor Finn to be thrown away from him from the force.

Tino looked up at Troy, who still had his hand raised as he reached slowly for his stinging cheek. It wasn't new that he had been struck, but it still hurt!

"I'll be back in a couple of hours with your new playmate." Troy said, staring hard into those angry but shocked violet eyes, "That'll give you plenty of time to tidy up, Kitten."

Tino stared at him in shock and disbelief, not fully aware that the man was making for the door. Snapping out of his trace-like state when heard the large metal door swing open, he quickly scrambled to his feet to give chase as Troy began to disappear behind the door, closing it behind him.

"EI! EI! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Tino screamed as he banged his balled fists on the metal. "LEAVE THEM ALONE! I THOUGHT THIS WAS BETWEEN YOU AND BERWALD! Jättää ne pois tästä!"

Troy smiled as he locked the door, listening to his poor captive scream and beg for him to leave his friends alone. It was rather intoxicating to say the least. He placed his key into his pocket, patting it into place before turning to walk up the winding stairs, though the hidden door. The banging and screaming could still be heard and Troy had to admit that he was impressed that the Finn had alot energy when it came to something he held dear. If only he could use that energy more constructively. He closed the the hidden door before he turned to walk out the front door, smiling as he looked to the piece of paper he clutched in his hand.

It was time to pick up Emil Steilsson.

* * *

Meanwhile, Emil Steilsson was nothing short of but pissed.

Now don't get him wrong, he never had a problem looking after 5 year old kids like Peter when he was asked to, but when he was told to look after the Sealandic toddler without so much as an explanation, then was he mad. He didn't expect to be awoken on Thursday morning at 2 in the morning and asked to go over to Tino and Berwald's house to look after the dog and the kid. When he asked why, Mathias simply told that Berwald's business meeting was extended and that Tino went out of town for awhile.

The answer wasn't good enough and as a result, Emil began spamming both his and his brother, Lukas' phones constantly, asking for proper answers. Why did Tino go out of town without saying anything? Why did Berwald's business trip suddenly extend? He even called Tino and received no response, save for his voice mail. This frustrated the Icelandic man to no end that both his brother and brother-in-law were deliberately ignoring him.

He sighed. Despite his angry outburst, Emil was actually a lot more calm and composed; He had to be for Peter's sake. He silver hair that was often tousled and violet eyes with a pale complexion. He wore a white tee that was hidden under a brown flannel shirt and blue jeans. Why are they purposely avoiding him? He didn't understand.

He blinked when felt two tiny hands grasp his shirt, giving it a gentle tug. He looked down and spotted the small boy with bright blue eyes, thick eyebrows and sandy-blond hair all wrapped in a cute sailor suit beaming up at him.

"Uncle Emil, I'm hungwy."

Emil didn't understand as to why the little boy kept calling him, Lukas and Mathias his uncles. They weren't related by blood of any shape or form as Peter was adopted and he and Tino had been best friends since middle school. It didn't trouble the silver haired man in the slightest. In fact, he thought that it was awfully cute.

"You're hungry huh?" Emil asked, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Yeah! Reawy hungwy!" He beamed at the Icelandic man.

"I see." Emil grinned, before reaching into his pocket for his car keys. "Tell me Peter, what do you say we go to McDonald's for lunch?"

"Yeah! Let's go!"

Emil laughed at the child's enthusiasm as Peter ran to grab his shoes. They left the house after 12 minutes of searching for the misplaced shoes and out to the waiting vehicle, where placing the child in his car seat proved difficult as the child kept squirming in excitement. After 20 minutes of that, off they went to the nearest McDonald's, as Emil pulled out of the driveway, driving his small Subaru forward, he was unaware that someone in a black SUV was slowly tailing him.

* * *

Lunch went smoothly well until a couple and their brats came in and ruined everything. The kids, a little boy and girl, were screaming and rough housing in a booth behind him and Peter, throwing their food everywhere whereas the parents sat there talking and doing nothing to contain their kids. Emil had reached a breaking point, snatching Peter and their food, deciding to make their order to go, and leaving to finish their meal peacefully at home.

"Where are we going, Uncle Emil?" Peter asked, clutching his happy meal toy in his hand as he held Emil's hand with his other.

"Home so we can enjoy our meal in peace, Peter."

"Okay Dokey."

They walked to the door as the couple stared at them saying something about 'showing proper child interacting skills'. The nerve of them to comment when they can't even control their own! Emil huffed and walked out the door, with Peter following weaving his Transformer toy up in and down as he made various sound effects to go with it. They moved to the back of the car and opened the trunk so Emil could reach for the food containers he always carried (hey, he's a perfectionist), not noticing that someone exited out of a black SUV parked next to him.

That was until he felt the end of a gun jabbed into his lower back and the deep voice of a man brushed his ear.

"Hello Emil Steilsson."

"Who are you?" Emil whispered back, not wanting to cause an alarm just yet lest he wanted Peter hurt in the crossfire. "And how do you know my name?"

"Not important."

"I think it's very important." Emil hissed as he felt the gun dig deeper into his back, "No one in their right mind would attempt this in full view of a public area."

"True, true." The man agreed, his breath gently fanning the Icelandic man's face.

"Why are you here? What do you want from me?" Emil quietly demanded, trying his best not to shiver in disgust.

"Ah. You see, I have a friend back at home who's really quite lonely and..."

"And why would I care about your lonely loser friend?" Emil interrupted, growling.

"Uncle Emil? What's wong?" Peter's voice rang from inside the car.

"N-n-Ah- Nothing, Peter." Emil replied as calmly as he could. He didn't want to scare the poor boy. That jab was completely unnecessary. "Just checking the car's status."

"Okay." Peter replied before returning to his Transformer toy.

"You'll care because, see, it's not MY lonely loser friend we're talking about."

Emil shuddered. Both at the tone of this man's voice and the fact his hand ghosted up his body resting on his throat before caressing and massaging it like he would with a lover.

"What do you mean?!" He demanded in a low voice.

"I have a kitten my place. A kitten named Tino Väinämöinen. Ring a bell?"

Emil stiffen. He slowly turned to look at the man, his violet eyes meeting with hazel/brown eyes. "Wha-"

"Hmm? Haven't they told you?"

Emil didn't answer. Instead he settled for a hard glare to which the man responded with an amused chuckle.

"I take that as a 'no'." He grinned. "4 days ago I picked up this stray little Kitten in the lot of a grocery store."

Emil huffed. Not a word of this can be true... Can it?

"Put up one hell of a fight, but once he got to know me, he quieted down." He continued to eye his silver haired prey. "But he's been feeling lonely and could use another kitten to keep him company."

"You-"

"Ah, ah, ah. We'll talk more about this later." He chided playfully before his demeanor changed to that of darker intent and jabbed the gun harder into the Icelandic man's back, "Now get the brat and hop into my car, or so the gods help you, I'll kill the kid."

Emil frozen at threat. "Y-You wouldn't-"

"Try me."

Emil, not wanting to chance it, turned to the front to look at Peter from the back. "Peter."

"Yeah, Uncle Emil?"

"Peter, buddy, my car's uh- dead. So we were going to find another way home." He jerked a bit at the sharp jab, "But this kind gentlemen is willing to give us a ride home. So please listen to the nice man okay, Peter?"

Peter blinked his large eyes at Emil before flashing his biggest smile. "Okay."

"Good boy, Peter."

"Good. Now both of you get in the backseat." He smiled. His smile sent shivers of fear through Emil's body. "And let's try not doing anything stupid, okay my Arctic kitten?"

"Got it." Emil growled as he scooped Peter into his hands and walked to the opened door, settling himself and Peter in the back.

This was going to be Hell.

* * *

**YAY! Chapter 9... Here we meet Sealand and Iceland. I made Sealand 5 because I thought it would be cute! Review please and thank you. :**


	10. Antonio and Peter

Emil wasn't sure how long they have been on the open road, but with every passing minute they spent on the road the more he felt scared and anxious as he watched buildings, trees and various other cars pass. He had to keep these emotions secured deep in his mind, for Peter's sake. The little tyke didn't seem to concerned that the trip home was taking longer then usual as he was more content playing with his Happy meal toy, much to Emil's relief. He glared hard at the back of the man's head as he held the kindergartener close to him.

"Hey mister!" Peter said, looking from the window to the driver, "Where are we going?"

"Oh~ somewhere..." He answered, looking at the boy through the rear view mirror.

"Oh... Okay then."

He went back to playing his little game, whereas the driver and Emil locked eyes for a minute before the hazel/brown eyes glanced back to the road.

"Cute kid."

"Very."

Emil refused to say anything more only looking in his direction only to glare angrily at the back of the man's head. He hated feeling powerless, helpless, but with Peter's life on the line, there wasn't much the silver-haired man could do but obey. He blinked when he heard a cell phone ring.

"Oh! I gotta take this, guys." He smiled at Emil, who growled at him.

He pulled over to the side of the road, Emil took a quick look at the landscape. They were in the middle of nowhere, save for the large field of corn stalks and flowers with a small house in the far distance. They must be in a rural part of the district.

"Stay in the car, like a good boy." The man said, turning to look at Emil and grabbing a hold of his jaw. "For the kid's sake..."

"Fine." Emil agreed, slapping the offending hand away from him.

"Good."

He turned the engine off before moving to get out of his car. Stepping out of the car and slamming the car door shut, he turned to answer his phone call.

"Hello~?"

Emil watched him with every step he made he quickly surveyed the interior of the back seat discovering that one door was unlocked facing the road, maybe the people in the house in the distance can help. He turned to look at the man who was busy chatting on his phone before turning to Peter.

"Peter."

"Yes, Uncle Emil?"

"I need you to listen and listen carefully." Emil could feel his adrenaline being to take control.

"O-Okay."

"When I open that door over there," He pointed at the door. "I want you run across the road and into those cornstalks. Do you understand?"

"Ye-Yeah." Peter felt a bit scared at Emil slightly raised tone.

"Good. Now get to that side of the car. Quick!"

Peter did as he was told. Emil quickly and quietly set him onto the car seat before the small boy scooted to the door with Emil reaching over him. He blinked before looking up at his 'uncle'.

"But Uncle Emil... What about you?"

"Don't worry about me."

"Why are we running away?"

"Because this man's a 'bad man' Peter." Emil replied, he threw open the door, "QUICK PETER! RUN!"

Peter did as he was told. He jumped out of the car and as quickly as his little legs would allow, he ran. Emil began to follow, when he heard the man.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

Emil turned to see that the man turned his direction from his phone call to briefly look at him and then see Peter running from his vehicle. Rage written clearly on his face. He walked around his SUV, raising his arm up, aiming his gun at the running boy.

"NO!"

Emil jumped at the man from inside the car, grabbing a hold of the hand that held the hand gun trying to wrestle it out of his hand, flinching when the gun fired a deafening bang into the air. He turned to see that Peter was slowing down and looking behind, fear etched on his small face.

"NO PETER! DON'T SLOW DOWN! KEEP RUNNING, KEEP RUNNING! DON'T LOOK BACK, DON'T YOU EVER LOOK BACK! JUST KEEP RUNNING! I'LL BE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!"

Peter did as he was told, disappearing into the vast land cornstalks before Emil turned his attention back to the man. He clearly had the upper hand, as he wrestled with the Icelandic man to regain control. And clearly, he might get it.

"You smart assed little bitch."

He managed to wrestle the hand that held his gun free from Emil and before Emil could react, he smashed the gun against Emil's head. Emil was sent to the ground from the force of the impact, his head bouncing against the dirt ground. Dimly, he was aware that blood was oozing from his silver hair. The world started to grow dark as he heard the gun blasting in the direction Peter disappeared to. He raised his head weakly as well as his arm. Hoping to somehow magically reach Peter before this bastard did.

"N... N-N-No... No. Pe-Peter..."

The last thing he heard was Peter screaming before the darkness claimed him and he passed out.

* * *

Peter had never felt so scared before in his entire life. He did what his 'uncle' told him to do, he ran the minute Emil opened the door. He ran like he never imagined he could.

When he heard that 'bad man' say the bad word his mama and papa had forbidden him to ever say, he looked behind him the minute a gunshot sounded after that 'bad word'. He slowed a little, really wanting his Uncle Emil to be here, running with him, he looked to see his 'uncle' fighting with the 'bad man', looking at him with fear in his violet eyes.

"NO PETER! DON'T SLOW DOWN! KEEP RUNNING, KEEP RUNNING! DON'T LOOK BACK, DON'T YOU EVER LOOK BACK! JUST KEEP RUNNING! I'LL BE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!"

With energy he didn't think he had, Peter ran faster and tried his very best not to look back, but he couldn't help but feel scared for his 'uncle'. He ran farther into the corn field, hiding him from sight of the 'bad man', he slowed down a little bit, feeling completely exhausted. He screamed when he heard gunshots and out of fear, he fell to the ground cowering.

"MAMA! PAPA!"

Tears stained his cheeks as he covered his head with his tiny hands. He was scared! He wanted his mama and papa.

The air soon fell silent after a while and Peter looked up, blinking his tear-filled blue eyes. He slowly picked himself up of the ground, looking around, trying to spot his 'uncle', you said he'd be right behind. There was no one.

"Uncle Emil?"

Silence answered him.

"U-Uncle Emil?"

There was still no reply. He cautiously began to walk back over to the SUV, trying to keep hidden and quiet as possible. He spotted something glittering in the sun and bent forward to pick it up. A funny looking metal ball thing. There were some more scattered around and he picked them up too, picking up a total of three weird metal round things.

"Uncle Emil?"

He reached the road where he was pretty sure the 'bad man's' car was earlier, now, there was nothing there. Peter began to fear a fresh wave of tears beginning to form. They left him. They left him.

He shrunk back into the corn, tightening his grip on his findings, he had never left this scared before in his entire life. He couldn't see or hear his 'uncle'.

"But h-he p-p-p-promised..."

He fell to the ground onto his bottom, pulling his knees up close to his body and curling himself into a tight little ball, his small body shaking with sobs. He wanted to go home. He wanted his Uncle Emil, his mama and his papa. He cried till he fell asleep, right there in the corn.

* * *

"Peter? Peter? Are you okay, un poco? Peter? Answer me, PLEASE!"

He awoke sometime later at the feeling of someone gently shaking him. He opened his eyes sleepily, blinking a fair few times before memories from earlier today began to flood his small mind. He sat up in a panic, scaring his company, who jumped slightly.

"Peter? Peter! What's wrong, mi pequeño?"

Peter blinked and looked to see who was talking to him, his eyes felt a new wave of tears rush forward at the very sight of the man in front of him. His company had somewhat curly, dark brown hair, bright green eyes with a tanned complexion and had a small bandage on his right cheek. He wore a loose dusty beige shirt that looked too big for him, dark brown pants that only reached to his knees, he was barefooted and carried a large basket of corn. It was Antonio Fernández Carriedo, a friend of his papa's, he knew. Peter sniffled.

"A-An-Antonio..."

"Peter? What are doing way out here? Where's your mamá and papá?" Antonio asked, placing his basket of corn onto the ground.

"I-I don't know..."

"You don't know?" Antonio blinked. He settled himself down onto the ground, pulling the terrified Sealandic child into his arms, "What's wrong, mi pequeño?"

"U-Uncle Emil... He-he promised he-he-he be here w-w-with me!" Peter sobbed burying his face into the Spaniard's chest. "Bu-But he-he's n-n-not here... I-I can't f-f-find him anywhere."

"Emil?" Antonio blinked. Something wasn't clicking right. "What were you two doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"W-We-We-" He seemed distraught.

"Peter, niño pequeño mar, you need to take a deep breath." Antonio whispered, cupping the child's face, "Now tell me what exactly happened."

Peter did as he was told, taking the biggest deep breath that his lungs would allow, he exhaled and launched into his story, telling Antonio everything (that he remembered). To where they went to McDonald's for lunch, them leaving earlier because Uncle Emil said so to when Uncle Emil told him his car broke and a stranger offered them a ride home. He told the Spaniard that they drove out here before he stopped to 'take a call' to where Uncle Emil told him to run away, far away from the car and seeing his uncle wrestling with the stranger as a loud bang rang out. He told him how Uncle Emil told him to run and never look back, promising to right behind him, then he heard more loud bangs before he fell to the ground.

Antonio nodded as listened to the child's tale. He honestly didn't expect this, but at the same time he kinda did when he first heard those gunshots. He fingered the hidden knife hidden in his back pocket looking around quickly, making sure that there was no one hidden in his cornfield. "What did you do after the world fell silent, Peter?"

"I-I went to look for Uncle Emil." Tears started to reappear in the child's eyes, "A-A-And I c-c-couldn't find him."

"It's okay un poco, it's okay." Antonio soothed gently, pulling the poor child into a tight embrace, rubbing soothing circles in the child's back. "Everything's gonna be okay. Prometo. Prometo."

"Y-You really p-p-promise?"

Antonio blinked. That was the first time a child of English background, knew the meaning to a word in another language they weren't familiar with. He none the less, smiled.

"I promise." He ruffled the sandy-blond hair. "How about we go inside and get something to eat, huh? I think Lovino's made some churros."

"Yay! Churros!" That cheered him up.

"And we'll see if we can get a hold of your papá. How's that sound?"

"Good. Very good."

He gathered the humming child into his arms, before standing up. Leaving his basket behind, he made for his and Lovino's house that was in the far distance while he bounced the now hiccuping 5 year old tyke in his arms. He knew what had to be done. He had to get a hold of Arthur and Berwald, fast!

* * *

**Man... I feel tired... **


	11. It Happened Like This

Berwald could feel his calm interior slipping with every passing minute. This bastard was doing more than torturing him; he was killing him. At this point, Berwald had finally broken down into tears, something he hadn't done since he was very young, over the thought of what his poor Tino must be going through and all because of him and his damned secret career. He ran upstairs and out the front door, startling Matthew and Alfred in the process as tears slipped down his face.

He kept on running, ignoring the others' calls of 'wait' and 'Berwald'. He ran out farther into the grassy plains, down a small slope in the back of the house, unaware that he was being followed. He didn't know where he planned to go, he couldn't see where he was going for he had left his glasses behind in his upset state. Unable to see, he stumbled and fell onto his knees into the soft waves of grass, where he sat there and cried.

"Berwald?"

Berwald paused and turned his head to the direction he heard the voice from, a blurred form that was cautiously walking up to him. Even though he couldn't see, he recognized the voice as Mathias.

"Berwald? Can... Can I sit and talk with ya', buddy?"

Berwald didn't answer as he rubbed his eyes, but after awhile he nodded. Mathias took a seat next to the upset Swede, sitting as close as possible. After a while, Mathias took a deep breath.

"Are- Are you okay?"

Berwald shook his head, wiping a couple of stray tears from his face.

"What's wrong?"

"It's all my fault..."

"What's your fault?"

"Tino's suffering, Mathias." He looked to the Dane, shocking him with the sight of tear stained face, "He's suffering because of me. He's even likely dead because of me."

"Hey now, we don't know for sure that he's dead..."

"We have no proof that he's still alive either." Berwald covered his face with his hands as his shoulders shook, "This bastard's probably killed him right after his first call. He's just running us around with his dumb riddles and clues and for what? A body that has been in a shallow grave for about a week."

"Hey... Don't be so negative..." Mathias replied, clapping a hand to Berwald's shoulder, offering him a weak smile. "I bet you that Tino's well and alive... Well, minus the fact he's likely been beaten, abused and hell, maybe even raped, but I bet you everything I have that he's still alive and he's waiting for you to rescue him."

Berwald studied Mathias, as best as one could without their glasses, for a moment.

"How can you be so sure? If it was Lukas... Would- Would you stay this optimistic?"

"No..." Berwald blinked, surprised by the Dane's answer, "I'd probably do the same thing if it was Lukas who was kidnapped and it was I that was in your position, you'd probably be in my position, trying to cheer me up..."

"You... You would?"

"Yeah... But it's what best friends do, right?" Mathias asked looking over at him. "We gotta be there for each other, we gotta know how the other feels. And I promise you, Berwald, I'm going to help you get this bastard and help you make him pay big time!"

He held his arms wide open, coaxing the large intimidating man to cry out his heart into his chest. Like they did when they were children. Berwald lied there in Mathias' lap, not caring who saw them, as the Danish man gently ran his hand through his hair whispering comforting words in his native tongue and hugging him close as a mother would with her child.

Berwald just lied in the Dane's arms after a while, enjoying the one simple fact that he was being held and comforted. If there was one thing Berwald appreciated about Mathias was probably the fact that despite his childish, loud-mouth behavior, he was actually a caring and understanding soul; always there to comfort him when needed. He sighed, nuzzling his face into the crook of Mathias' arm.

"BERWALD! MATHIAS!"

Mathias turned to the sound of their names being called where as Berwald looked up from his nook, to see Tim running toward them, waving his hand high over his head trying to gain their attention.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We see you." Mathias sighed. "What's got you all in a snit, Tim?"

"Arthur wants to see you both!" He answered, halting by them. "He received a call from Antonio just after you both ran out!"

"So Antonio called- La dah frickin' da." Mathias shrugged, "Just because he left our guild last year we're now turning every call he makes to us a big deal?"

"No... It's Peter..."

"Peter?"

Berwald suddenly shot up from Mathias' arms at the mention of his adopted son, startling the Danish man in the process. He towered over the Dutch man, who didn't seem to fazed by the Swede's intimidating precisense.

"What happened to my son?"

"Follow me."

* * *

"What's this about Peter?" Mathias asked, as he reached the bottom landing after Tim.

"What has happened to my son?" Berwald demanded.

"The better question is..." Lukas seethed, his whole body trembled with anger, "What happened to my brother?"

"Emil?"

"What's happened?"

"Calm down." Arthur replied, waving his arms to match his statement, "I received a call from a retired operative... You all remember, Antonio Carriedo, correct?"

There was unified sound of agreement.

"And you all recall that when Antonio retired from our services, he retired to a farmhouse 37 miles outside this city?" He asked. Another sound of agreement. "Well, while he was harvesting his fruits of labor this afternoon, he heard sounds of gunshots in his cornfield. And naturally, he went to investigate."

He waited for a response. None came and he pressed on.

"He found Peter out in his cornfield, in a state of distress, claiming that a 'bad man' has taken his 'uncle' Emil."

"But Peter's okay right?" Gilbert piped up. "He wasn't hurt, right?"

"Yes... He's bit shaken but other then that, he's fine."

"What happened to my brother?!" Lukas demanded.

"That's what we're going to find out." Arthur replied, "Eduard, you, Ivan, Ludwig and Gilbert stay here. Don't worry, Alfred's well aware that you will be staying here, I'm just gonna hope you won't mind Burger King for dinner. Everyone else, we're visiting Antonio and Lovino."

Everyone began filing upstairs to head to the cars, leaving Mathias, Berwald and the 4 others behind. Mathias turned to Berwald, clapping his hand on his shoulder as the Swede picked up his glasses.

"Don't worry... Ok?"

"Hm."

* * *

When Emil first regained consciousness, the first thing he registered was a throbbing pain in the right side of his head, but as it ebbed away, it became the least of his problems. The next thing he registered was that he was bound, gagged and blindfolded in the back of a car, that was currently in motion. The third thing he registered was that he wasn't going to let this- this dumb fuck- get away with kidnapping him and killing Peter without a fight. His mind flooded with anger and sorrow at the thought of Peter, he was just a boy and this man killed him in cold blood. The monster.

He started rubbing his cheek against his shoulder, trying to remove the cloth off his mouth while keeping as quiet as possible. After a good 10 minutes, he finally removed his gag, allowing it to slip down and hang from around his neck as he took a deep breath. As loud as he could, he screamed on the top of his lungs.

"YOU BASTARD!"

He knew he gained the man's attention when the car suddenly jerked to one side then to another, causing the poor Icelandic man to bounce his head from the back of the car seats next to him then off the solid trunk door, giving him quite a headache. He groaned. That really hurt.

"Nice of you to drop a line, Little pup." His voice rang from the front. "Although, I'd advise next time, try a much more quieter attempt at gaining my attention."

"Fuck you."

"That wouldn't be fun though..." Emil could practically hear him smirk, "It'll be more fun if was either you or Kitten."

"Stay the hell away from me!" Emil warned, his eyes narrowing dangerously behind his blindfold.

"You're not a position to make demands, Pup."

"And you're not in a position to get anything from me... Not without a fight."

"Snarky guy, aren't you?"

"And you're a dumb fuck aren't you?"

The man laughed in response to Emil's retort, Emil could feel the car coming to a steady but slow stop.

"Let me go."

"Beg pardon?"

"Did I stutter?" Emil answered, he could feel his fear gripping at him. That's it, if he got out of this alive, he vowed to cut back on his crime shows, "I said 'Let me go'."

"I can't do that." He felt the car come to a complete stop.

"And why not?" Dumb thing to ask really.

"Because then Kitten won't have anyone to keep him company..." came the answer. "You can't imagine how lonely it is for him when I work long hours..."

"Kitten...?" Wait- What?

Emil had to pause for a moment... Who were they referring to now? Emil grumbled in annoyance, apparently that solid hit to his head from the man's gun had caused him to forget. Dammit all to hell.

"Right, right... You only know him as Tino Väinämöinen. Yes?"

"Tin-" Emil's widen behind his blindfold, now he remembered. "Tino never left town... YOU KIDNAPPED HIM!"

"Like I did with you, right?"

Emil didn't answer as a million thoughts ran through his head. Why did Mathias and Lukas lie to him? They told him he went out of town for a Moomins convention or whatever. If that was the case, then where was Berwald really? Was he really in a extended business meeting or was he too, kidnapped? What was going on?

So distracted he was with his thoughts, he didn't hear the man get out of the car and slamming the car door. He didn't come back to reality until he heard a the trunk door open and he could feel the man looming over him. He couldn't help unleashing a startled yelp.

"Tell me... Who told you Kitten 'was out of town'?"

"N-None of your damn business!"

"I take it was your brother or your brother-in-law, huh?"

"Wha-" That threw Emil completely out of the loop. "H-How- How do you know I have a brother and a brother-in-law?"

"You'd be surprised at what I know, Pup..."

He felt the man reach around him, untying his blindfold, allowing him another look at his captor. He narrowed his violet eyes at a sudden thought that struck him.

"You're bluffing..."

"Oh?"

"Yeah... That was nothing more than a cheap guess."

"Oh really? Then ask me anything."

"Since you already know I have a brother and a brother-in-law," Emil glared, "What are their names and what is their relation to each other and me?"

"You have an older brother named Lukas Bondevik, who claims to work as a scientist for Norse mythology. He married to, your now and only brother-in-law, Mathias Kohler a man who claims to work as a designer for Legos." He smiled as Emil's eyes grew wide. "They've been married for about a year. Nothing short of a miracle really, I honestly didn't think Lukas would ever marry him. Let alone date him in the first place..."

He leaned closer, relishing in the fact that Emil was completely and utterly scared at his knowledge. He shivered, as his breath ghosted over his ear.

"I even attended their wedding."

Emil turned slowly to look at him, his eyes locking with the man's darken ones. With those eyes and that matching grin that spread across his face, he could pass off as a demented cheshire cat.

"Who- Who are you?"

"That's depends, don't it?"

"You're avoiding the question..."

"If there's one thing I'm gonna like about you, Pup..." He chuckled as he took Emil's discarded blindfold and crumbling up into a small ball, "It's probably going to be that fiery spirit of yours."

"That's not wh- GLMMPF!"

Once Emil opened his mouth to retort, the wad of cloth was stuffed into his mouth before his captor removed the cloth from around his neck, tying it tightly around Emil's mouth. Emil tried to scream into the man's face only for it to come out as a muffled hissing sound.

"Relax Pup. It's only temporarily." He smiled. "Once we're home, I'll remove that mean old cloth... Okay?"

Emil let lose a strand of strangled sounds in response, trying in frustration to kick the bastard in his ugly mug. His attempts were halted by the 10' inch strand of rope that connected his ankles to his wrists. The more he tried the more frustrated he became.

"It's only going to be another 30 minutes, I promise." He smiled as he traced a finger across Emil's tender wound, earning him a shuddery choked moan. "30 minutes and you and Kitten can catch up and play."

He stood and slammed the trunk door leaving Emil alone in the back. Emil heard the crunching of gravel outside and the opening and closing of a car door, once the car started moving, Emil rested his against the trunk door. Dare he say it, let alone think it he really wished that Lukas was here. A single tear slipped down his cheek as the car began to move forward.

_'Onii-chan... If you can somehow hear me... Help me, please.'_

* * *

The trip to Antonio's farm was pleasant if not scary. Upon finding that something may have happened to his baby brother, Lukas started emitting a deadly aura and everyone tried to edge as far away from the Norwegian as Arthur's Honda van would allow them. Berwald was the only one brave enough to remain in close proximity to angered Norwegian man, as he understood what Lukas was going through. He too, knew what it was like to have something happen to the one you cared for most in the world and you couldn't be there to protect them.

When they reached Antonio's quint little home, the rest of the gang was grateful to get out of the van into wider space away from Lukas, while the latter fumed silently. They all looked up at the sound of an old voice that had called out to them.

"Bienvenidos todos."

Antonio stood on his porch with his arms opened wide and a smile that didn't meet his usual cheery aura.

"Hey Antonio... Long time." Arthur smiled sadly. "How's retirement working for you?"

"It was going good till today."

"Yes, you mentioned you acquired Peter under unusual circumstances."

"Sí. In fact, he's-"

"PAPA!"

They all looked up to see the 5 year old boy running out of the house, followed by another young man and straight to Berwald. Berwald fell to his knees, holding his arms out allowing the youth to run into his arms and hugged him as tightly as an scared father could. He held him close as Peter squirmed to look at him.

"You're home, you're home!" He said excitedly. He blinked and looked around. "But where's Mama?"

"Mama's..." Berwald felt a lump in his throat. "I don't know where Mama is, Peter."

"What do ya mean?"

"Peter." They turned to look at the man standing behind Antonio as he addressed Peter. He had dark brown hair and an olive complexion with the striking mix of green/hazel eyes anyone's ever seen. He had a wild long curl that rested on the right side, he wore a simple turtle-neck with a black shoulder vest and dark brown slacks, "Peter, why don't you tell your papa and 'Uncle' Lukas what happened today?"

"Oh yeah! Papa! Uncle Lukas!" Peter poked Berwald's chest. "A 'Bad Man' came and took me and Uncle Emil away! But Uncle Emil told me to run away and he promised he would be right behind me! But he wasn't there!"

Peter looked close to tears.

"I-I went back to find him... But he was gone! T-They were gone!" Peter wiped his falling tears with his tiny hands.

"Peter?"

"Yes, Mister Lovino?"

"Why don't you show Papa and the other what you found in the cornfield?"

"What did he find in the cornfield?" Antonio turned to look at his lover.

"Shut up and watch- dumb bastard."

Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out his findings; the weird mushed metallic balls that he dubbed and dumped them into his 'papa's' outstretched hand. Everyone's eyes, except Lovino's, widen at the sight of bullet casings in the Swede's hand.

"I found these Papa."

"Oh god..."

Everyone turned to look at Lukas, all shocked that tears were beginning to cascade down his face. He fell to his knees, with Mathias holding him.

"Peter, did the 'bad man' give you his name?" Arthur asked.

Peter shook his head.

"Do you know what he looks like?"

Peter nodded.

"Can you tell us what he looked like?"

"He... He was tall, not tall like Papa but tall like Mister Antonio with brown eyes." Peter paused, thinking hard, "Dark hair and a funny beard thingy on his chin."

"Is that it Peter?"

"He liked playing in the sun." Peter answered.

Everyone blinked before looking to Berwald, who shrugged. "What?"

"He had tanned skin and Mama said people who had that skin liked to play alot in the sun, like he says good children do." Peter clarified, smiling.

"Ah..." Arthur smiled, they finally had something. He turned to Antonio and Lovino. "Antonio, I know you're retired but you don't suppose you could lend us your aid for old time's sake would you?"

"Not at all." Antonio smiled, "To be honest, since Lovino still works for you guys, I kinda missed the action in my life, when he comes home and talks about it. Es bonito y todo, pero..."

"But you enjoy the thrill of hunting huh?"

"Something like that, yeah." He smiled before turning to Lovino, who smirked. "Give us five minutes to get ready. We'll meet at the van."

* * *

**Oh wow... Chapter 11. I feel pretty good about this somehow. :3**


	12. Hospitality

If there was one thing Emil felt proud about, it was probably the fact that he made his kidnapper have difficult time moving him. 30 minutes went by awfully fast and they had reached their destination, even though Emil trembled over the thought of what his man could do to him, he remained brave and strong. The minute the man had pulled over and opened the trunk door, Emil had fought, wanting to be the biggest pain in this man's ass as he could.

His hands had reached out and seized Emil by heaving him over his shoulder, like he was recently hunted (that wasn't a pun). Even with a 10 inch restriction that held his hands and feet at bay, it didn't stop the Icelander from constantly squirming and trying to the knee the bastard. Because of his constant squirming, the dumb ass had to re-position him at least 6 times back onto his shoulder before they even reached his front door. Emil smirked behind his gag in victory.

"You're making this difficult on purpose, aren't you Pup?"

Emil gave something that was close to an affirmative. It really was difficult to speak with these damned rags in his mouth.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised." Emil could've sworn he heard the bastard smirk. "You're so excited to see Kitten aren't you?"

Emil's growl came out as muffled huff.

"I thought so."

He walked up the stairs to the front porch. Here, Emil had to stay still, as he didn't plan to brain himself in with a flight of steps. If anything, if he wanted someone to be brained, it would be this bastard and he wanted him to suffer heavy though his bludgeoning. Emil smirked at the dark image.

Once his captor had reached level ground with his front door and kicked it open, Emil re-assumed his struggling. He could feel his fear reaching a peak in that door closed, basically, sealing his fate and probably would never see the light of day again, here he knew, he would likely die in this very house by this very man but those thoughts weren't going to stop him from fighting for his freedom. Oh hell no, he was going to be a fighter til the very end!

As they reached the dining room (living room?), Emil paused in his fighting at the sound of a cellphone going of in the man's pocket. What threw him completely off was that the ringtone was similar to the one Tino had set for Lukas, but that had to be coincidence, right? But that was quickly disproved with what his kidnapper said next.

"Seems like you big brother wants a word with me... I wonder whatever for."

Emil seethed response.

He heaved Emil off his shoulder, placed him on the couch present and taking a seat near his head. Emil looked up as best as he could and with widen eyes, watched the man pull out TINO'S cellphone out of his back pocket, smirk at the screen and pressing the 'talk' button.

"Hello~"

_"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"_

Emil flinched at Lukas' screaming, whereas the man just smiled.

"Hello to you too, Lukas."

_"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BROTHER?!"_ He sounded pissed and somehow, Emil felt glad that he did and normally he hated it when Lukas yelled. _"WHERE IS HE?!"_

"Hey, now. Let's calm down." He smiled as his fingers found their way to Emil's silver hair, causing the Icelandic man to shudder in disgust. "No need to yell, Lukas."

_"I'LL YELL ALL I DAMN WANT!"_ Came an angry reply. _"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BABY BROTHER?!"_

"Lukas! Calm down!" Came a voice on the same end.

"NO!"

"I'm kinda surprised you haven't asked how I knew who you were..." He snickered, twirling his fingers in those silver locks, while Emil tried to scream through his gag. Desprite to gain Lukas' attention. "That's a first."

_"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ON HOW YOU KNOW ME!"_ Came the same angry voice. _"I want to know where my brother is?"_

Each word was laced with poison and Emil that that wasn't a good sign... For this bastard. He jumped when he realized that he was leaning over him, a dark smile twisting on face as he pulled out a small switchblade. He placed the call on speakerphone. This was it, Emil knew, he was going to die and Lukas was going to hear every last second of his life slip away.

"He's here... With me." He pressed the cool blade against Emil's cheek. Tears began to slowly form against the Icelandic man's wishes. "Next to Tino, I have to say he was just as a nice catch."

_"How dare you-"_

"Indeed." He smiled. "I take you wish to talk to him?"

_"Put him on __**NOW**__!"_

He turned back to Emil and in one swift movement, he cut off Emil's gag. He placed the switchblade on the coffee table in front of Emil and wretched out the cloth in his mouth causing the poor boy to cough violently. He smiled while Emil glared.

"Your big brother wants a word." He held the phone against Emil's ear.

"H-Halló?"

_"Emil? Is- Are you- Is this you?"_

Emil was shocked to say the least at the sudden flood of emotions in his brother's voice; relief, fear, anger and anxiety. He gulped when felt that cold blade press against his throat and dangerous voice whispering in his ear.

"Careful on what you tell him, Pup..."

He nodded weakly. "Yeah, it's me..."

_"Are you okay? Did he hurt you? He didn't touch you __**DID HE**__?!"_

"I-I'm fine..." Emil answered, "I'm not hurt. And no, he hasn't touched me."

_"Where are you?"_

"I-I-I..." Emil stammered, he gave a tiny whimper when he felt the blade press deeper into his throat. "I... I-I honestly don't know."

_"Emil... I'm going to get you out of this."_ Lukas' voice gave a slight hitch. If Emil didn't know any better, he could've sworn that the Norwegian was trying to hold back his tears. _"Both you and Tino. I promise."_

"I hope so..." Emil took a deep breath, "B-Big- Oh jeez... Big brother?"

_"Yes?"_

"I want to tell... Tell you just in c-case something goes wrong..." Emil gulped. "I-I... I love you..."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the phone, before he was given an answer.

_"I love you too. I won't let him do anything to you... If anything, he's going to be the one dying."_

"About that... Lukas- I..." Emil could feel the hot tears stinging his eyes. "Oh God... Lukas, it's Peter, he's- Oh God, tell Berwald I'm sorry! I-I tried to save Peter but-but I only got him killed instead... Lukas, P-P-Peter- he's dead."

The tears fell down his cheeks, "I'm so sorry Berwald... Tino."

_"Emil... Emil, Little Brother."_ Lukas gently called over Emil's quiet sobbing. _"Peter's fine..."_

Emil sniffled. What? "W-What?"

_"Peter's okay."_ Lukas assured. _"A friend of mine, Antonio, found him in his cornfield, alive and unharmed..."_

"Thank God..." He sighed in relief.

"Indeed..." Whispered a dark voice in his ear. Emil trembled as he felt the blade press even deeper into his throat, causing a small trickle of blood. "Finish up, Pup..."

"B-Big brother, I have to go now..." Emil said, trying to keep himself from trembling to violently. "I-I... I hope to see you soon."

_"Stay safe... I will get out of there- I promise."_

"Ok..."

The phone was taken from Emil as was the blade pressed against his neck. He let loose a shuddery sigh in relief. Thank God... He watched as the bastard raised the phone to his own mouth, his eyes never leaving Emil's.

"Happy?"

Smiling like that should be made illegal... For him.

_"For now..."_ Lukas replied with his old heat._ "You dare put a single scratch on him, damage a single hair on him... I'll kill you in the most brutal fashion I know..."_

"Sounds fun..." Emils didn't understand why he sat there and smiled. His brother's threats were promises- not bluffs.

_"If you harmed Tino... Put a scratch on him- You're on your own with Berwald."_

"I kinda figured..." Sarcasm.

_"You harmed him, didn't you? You sick bastard..."_

"I didn't say I did..." He traced a finger, down the length of Emil's spine causing the Icelandic man to shudder. "I don't know about you but I have a lot of things that need to be done today, so I must really go..."

_"What makes you think this conservation is over?"_

"Well... I have to get your brother settled in don't I?" He patted Emil's ass, earning him a threating growl. "Try him out. Talk to you guys later..."

_"DON'T YOU DARE HA-"_

He hung up on Lukas before he could even finished his sentence. He turned to face Emil, a dangerous smile plastered on his face. Emil trembled, whatever this man had in plan for him couldn't good. Fuck.

"I bet you're excited to see Tino again, aren't you?"

Emil shivered.

* * *

"LET ME GO LET ME GO LET ME GO!"

Emil screamed as he was carried down a long hall way, trying to kick the bastard carrying him with no avail. He knew that going down these hallways and a winding flight of stairs were going to spell 'Death' for him, maybe he assumed this because he watched too many_ 'Criminal Minds'_, _'CSI'_ and other crime shows, he didn't know. But 'Death' should be the least of his problems, right?

"Keep squirming and I might drop you." He chuckled, "You wouldn't want that now do you?"

"I'D PREFER IT OVER WHATEVER IT IS YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR ME!" Emil shrieked.

"Aw- Don't be like that Pup. You, Kitten and I are going to have so much fun together."

"FUCK YOU!"

"Such a temper." He chided playfully, "We really need to fix that..."

"STAY. AWAY. FROM. ME!"

"Don't think so..." He patted Emil's ass. "Here's your room and roommate."

From the angle Emil was at, he could see a large metal door swing open, revealing a semi-bright room. It looked an awful lot like a large prison holding cell. He carried Emil through the large door into the room where he heard a gasp. It couldn't be-

"NO! EMIL!"

It was Tino. In an ungodly schoolgirl outfit.

"LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO PLEASE!" He cried, "I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! I'LL BE GOOD, JUST PLEASE LET HIM GO! Don't involve him... Please..."

"Get out of my way Kitten."

"Let Emil go..." Tears were spilling from the Finn's eyes.

"Tino..." Emil could feel his own tears coming to his eyes.

"I said out of my way!"

Emil heard the slap before it even connected to Tino's flesh. Tino let a pained cry as fell hard to the ground a little away from them, whimpering. He walked passed Tino, toward the bed and tossed Emil on the mattress resulting in Emil groaning. He let out a gasp of shock when the man was leaning over him a look of dark lust in his eyes.

Emil wanted to scream.

"NO TROY! PLEASE!" Tino was back onto his feet, pounding his fists against the man, Troy's, back. "DON'T DO THIS!"  
"I thought you wanted to be a good boy..."

"I-I-I-I-"

"Are you a good boy?"

"Y-y-yes... B-b-b-but..."

"But what Kitten?"

"Please..." He gripped the back of Troy's shirt.

"Please what?"

"Take me... Take me in Emil's place. I will be whatever you want me to be, but leave Emil alone. Please, I beg of you." Tears were flowing down his face, his grip weakening.

"YOU'RE begging me?" He turned to look at the Finn, an eyebrow raised. Clearly amused. "That's new..."

"If it will spare Emil a-and please you..."

"No... Tino- Don't-"

"Hush now. Let him finish." He smirked, "Go on, Kitten... Let's see where this goes..."

Tino gulped and took a deep breath. His eyes were level and straight forward, but his voice was shaky.

"Please... Please take me, f-f-f-fu-fuck me. I'll be what you will, I'll be what you desire." Tino paused before he thought of something that could do the trick. "Please... M-Master..."

"Protecting what innocence your friend has..." He smiled, patting Emil's hip, "I can respect that."

Tino sighed in relief whereas Emil shuddered. Emil let out a startled gasp as he was suddenly lifted up off the bed and placed near a table on the other side of the room, facing the bed. He turned back and grabbed a hold of Tino's wrist in a bruising grip, which Tino returned a small squeak, throwing him on to the bed. Tino turned away from Troy briefly to look at Emil with wide fearful eyes before he looked back at the man on top of him.

"Don't make him watch..." He begged.

"It's either you or him, Kitten..."

"N-n-n-no- I-I-I..."

"Tino, don't do this." Emil begged, "I'll be fine. I'll be okay, I promise."

"I can't..." Tino turned to look at the silver haired youth, tears pouring done his face. A sad heart-wrenching scene. "I can't- L-L-Lukas, he... He-he would never- never forgive me, if I sat there and... And let him take you. I can't, Emil. I just can't..."

"He'll understand. He'll understand!" Emil felt tears flowing down his cheeks, trembling. Fighting against the ropes holding his wrists. "Don't do this Tino. He'll understand! I know he will!"

"I can't..." Came a scared whisper. Troy locked eyes with Emil briefly before smirking which Emil responded with a strained growl.

"You monster!"

He shrugged before turning his attention back to his prey sprawled out underneath him, capturing his lips into a rough kiss. Tino let out a startled cry as Troy began to attack his body and skin, he began to fight and try to get away with little luck as Troy held him in place, pulling the Finn closer to him. Emil's violet eyes widen at the sight, before he shut them and turned away, tears falling in large streams, not wanting to look as the man raped Tino right there, in front of him.

"N-N-NO!" Came a scream as the sound of clothes being ripped off a body sounded.

"Oh G-God..." Emil whimpered.

A harsh sob escaped his lips. Sure, it was easy to not look at the scene unfold before him but the same thing couldn't be said about the sounds from the event. Emil wished he was deaf. It was hard to block out the sounds of rape from his mind, he couldn't unhear Tino screaming, pleading, fighting and crying as he tried to fight and escape his predicament, whereas the bastard clearly enjoyed it. He laughed, grunted, mocked and lashed out at Tino if he didn't do what he was told. The sounds of a brutal, yet horrible lovemaking bounced off the walls, ringing in Emil's ears.

After a while, the noises all stopped leaving only quiet sobbing from Tino's part and harsh crying from Emil but Emil refused to open his eyes. Not wanting to look at the scene that awaited him. Troy spoke up.

"Once you get cleaned up, Kitten, why don't you show the little Pup here around his new room." Troy smiled as he patted Emil's head, with Emil tried to get away from. "He's going to be here for quite awhile..."

And with that said, he turned on his heel and disappeared behind the metal door and closing it with a small click, leaving the two men quietly sob in the room behind. Today had to be the second worst day in Tino's life.

* * *

**Chapter 12... Poor Emil, Poor Tino... D:**

**Reviews very much appreciated. **


	13. A Plan and Daring Escape

**Sorry about the long update guys... School and work and going to be the death of me one of these days... X/**

* * *

"Something isn't making sense..." Arthur said after the show with Lukas' call. "I thought this was between him and Berwald... So why drag Emil in all of this?"

"Maybe Berwald wasn't alone during the incident he took this person's love." Antonio suggested.

"Maybe..." Arthur sighed before turning to the Lukas and Berwald. "Berwald, what is Emil's relationship to you?"

"He's Tino's best friend from elementary school." Berwald replied, "I knew Mathias since Pre-school and we didn't know Lukas till 5th grade."

"Indeed... LUDWIG!"

"Sir?"

"Pull out all the mission files that Berwald either served alone or partnered with either Lukas, Mathias or both of them." Arthur demanded, "I want all files that date as far back as 1989 and include the mission files dated before and after Lukas and Mathias got married."

"Yes, Sir." Ludwig replied.

"Let's look back at what we have." Arthur turned to Gilbert and Eduard, "All we may have gotten are a bunch of useless adresses, but they must mean something... Eduard did you find anything on them?"

"No..." Eduard shook his head. "They must have been picked at random... They've been written in some of the mission files, but they seem to be coming from each one periodically..."

"Hmm..." Arthur massaged his chin. "So we defiantly know that it was about mission a he wants Berwald to payback, correct?"

"Correct."

"Ludwig, do you have anything?"

"I have about 96 missions that fit your profile, Arthur." Ludwig replied.

"Now I want you to narrow it down to missions that involved either or all three of them to eliminate their target."

"That narrows it down to 56 of them, Sir."

"Well, it's better then 215 missions we originally had to select from." Arthur smiled, "We might actually be getting somewhere. Ivan, I want you and Tim to look through all 56 of them and see if you can find out something about each eliminated target. Like if they a boyfriend, girlfriend, brother, ect ect."

"Yes, Sir."

"Da."

"Berwald, Lukas." The two men looked up at the English man, who regarded them gently, "We're going to get them back. I promise."

"Will we kill him?" Lukas asked.

"Beg pardon?"

"Will we kill him?" Lukas repeated, his teeth gritted in anger, "Will we make him pay?"

"Yes..." Arthur's eyes hardened. "We'll make him pay more then you think."

"Good." Lukas gripped Berwald's hand tightly, "Berwald and I want to be the ones to carry out the punishment, Arthur."

"I can gladly arrange that."

* * *

Emil couldn't stop the silent tears that rolled down his cheeks. After what he heard, he couldn't stop the flow of emotions from clouding his eyes and his thoughts. He couldn't even come up with a snappy comeback when that- that MONSTER- dared to address him at his 'fun' as the bastard put it. He felt dead on the inside.

He could feel the breath of that monster ghost past his face as he leaned in and whispered words that Emil dimly heard, before he placed a kiss against Emil's temple. With no reaction, Emil was dimly aware that Troy, he said his name was, smiled before he stood up and walked out the door.

"Make sure your friend's comfortable in his new home, Kitten. See you in a several hours. "And with that, the door clicked with snap and he disappeared as Tino lightly sobbed into his pillow. After several of minutes, Emil felt his head clear, he felt his anger replace his 'dead sorrowful' feeling and boiling at a rather high temperature. He began calling to Tino whilst keeping his temper in control.

"Tino... Tino!"

There was a hiccup before a reply. "Y-Yeah?"

"I need you to untie me..."

"Oh right... I-I forgot- Sorry..."

Tino slowly edged toward the bed, swinging his legs over the side and grimacing at the pain that likely followed before shakily standing to his feet. He whimpered a bit before reaching behind him and pulling a thin sheet from the bed and wrapping it around his body, to shield his nudity and shame from his friend. He shivered at the sight of rage on his friend's face.

"Please Emil... Don't be mad." He whispered, his voice shaking as tears began to well up in his eyes, "I h-h- I had to do it. Lu-Lukas- He- I'm so sorry..."

"I'm not mad at you Tino..." Emil replied, "I'm more mad at this monster!"

"I- I see..." Tino muttered as he fell to his knees and began working on Emil's bonds.

Once he was free from his ropes, Emil quickly rubbed his wrists before rounding onto the kneeling Finn.

"How long do we have until he returns?"

Tino was a bit taken aback by Emil's question. He blinked, holding the thin sheet close to his body.

"He- He normally comes back around again at 7 pm..." Tino trembled, "W-W- Why?"

"Because we need to plan..."

"Plan? Plan for what?" Tino's eyes widen at a sudden thought. "Oh no... Emil! You can't!"

"And why not?" Emil demanded. "I'm not going to sit here while this- this MONSTER- rapes you, slowly killing you from the inside Tino!"

"But you can't!" Tino cried, grabbing ahold of Emil's arm. "You don't know what he may be capable of!"

"And you do?"

"Well- No, but..."

"Exactly." Emil replied, walking over to the table. "With every little thing in life, there has to be a risk taken and I'm taking mine. Here and now..."

"Bu-But what if he was m-m-mentally unstable?"

"That's the risk I'm taking..."

Emil flipped the table over onto its smooth surface with a loud crash as the items on it splayed out everywhere on the floor. Tino flinched at the sound, quickly looking to the door and ceiling for any hint of sound from Troy. He gasped as Emil seized one of the table's legs and with a clean swipe of his leg and a mighty pull, the Icelandic man ripped the leg clean off the table, much to Tino's astonishment and shock.

"Emil! What- Why-"

"No time." Emil simply replied, swinging his makeshift weapon like a baseball bat. "Let's see if all those years in the high school baseball team did me any good..."

"Emil..."

"I don't want to hear it Tino. I'm going to get us out of here and nothing you say or do will change my mind."

* * *

Hours had passed as Emil and Tino waited for Troy to return. Emil posted himself on one side of the door, his table leg raised, ready to strike. While Tino sat on the bed, holding the bed sheets close to his chest, acting as bait. Emil tensed when he heard the key scrape against the lock on the other side of the door, swinging, tortuously slow, open blocking Emil from sight as HE walked in.

He had a smug look on his face; a look Emil couldn't wait to erase. He walked deeper into the room, thankfully not noticing Emil thanks to the door as he walked over to poor Tino, who trembled madly like a leaf. He paused halfway through his trek to the bed, looking around, his smile fading.

"Where's your friend, Kitten?"

"I-I-I-I-"

"You what, Kitten?" He voice was laced with malice, "Where's the Pup, Kitten?"

Emil crept up on Troy slowly and quietly as he raised the table leg higher and higher over his head. As planned, Tino looked to Emil and gasped, as Troy looked behind him, his eyes widen slightly as that makeshift club was swung directly at his head.

"What the-"

With a loud WHACK Troy fell to ground, knocking his head against the side of the bed before it landed on to the stone floor, rendering him unconcious. Blood started flowing from his wound and dripping onto the floor.

"Oh my- You-You killed him!" Tino was hyperventilating. "You killed him! Oh Gods..."

"Oh and killing us would have a better option?" Emil retorted tossing the leg next to Troy's lifeless body. "Come on, Tino! We're getting out of here!"

"But- I'm naked!"

"We'll 'borrow' some clothes for you..."

" 'Borrow'?"

"Work with me, Tino..."

Emil reached forward and grabbed a hold of Tino's wrist, pulling him off the bed and sprinting out the open door with Tino in hand, the Finn clutching the sheet tightly to his chest. They ran up the winding the staircase and out the secret door into the hallway. Emil turned and quickly latched the secret door shut before pulling a nearby table over to block it.

"What are you doing?" Tino asked.

"Not taking chances." Was his response.

"Bu-But you killed him..."

"Still not taking any chances..."

After arranging the table in a way he liked, Emil turned back to Tino and grabbed ahold of him once more, resuming their escape.

"His room's gotta be somewhere in this hellhole..."

They ran down the hall, until they found the room they sought with a plaque on the door, reading _'Troy Sanchez'_. Tacky thing really, but a real life saver. Dashing inside, Emil ripped open Troy's dresser and closet, trying to find something presentable for Tino to wear. Finding a pair of blue jeans and a grey shirt, he chucked them at Tino.

"Quick. Put these on."

Tino nodded numbly, tossing the thin sheet aside and pulled on the jeans and shirt. They were both bigger then the Finn but they would have to make do. They jogged to the front door when both men froze upon the sound of banging on the other side of the hall, coupled with an angry outburst.

"YOU FUCKING BRATS!" He roared.

"Crap..."

"He's alive?" Tino trembled. Tears sparkled in his eyes. "B-B-But he was bleeding an-and-"

"I must've nailed him in the thickest part of skull. The most protected part of the skull." Emil reasoned. He turned to Tino. "We going to have to run Tino! We can lose him in the in forest!"

"Are you sure?"

"Tino, you're going to have to trust me." Emil answered, cupping the Finnish man's face before taking Tino's hand into his own. "Come on!"

They ran through the door and down the steps, past the car and into the forest, just as a deafening crash was heard alongside a dog barking madly. Emil could feel his adrenaline pumping as he pulled Tino along with, he could even fell the Finn tremble through his hand. Poor Tino was terrified and in tears as they ran deeper and deeper into the forest.

"Emil! I'm really scared!"

"I know! I know!" Emil answered, almost close to tears himself. "Everything's going to be okay! I promise!"

They halted briefly in a small clearing, Emil began to look around rapidly for another direction. Emil felt as though his blood turned into solid ice when he heard a gunshot sound into the forest alongside a bark. Emil and Tino trembled and looked to the source of the sound, blood running beyond cold.

"HE'S HUNTING US!"

Tino was beyond terrified. "Em-m-mil..."

"DAMMIT!"

Grabbing Tino, Emil ran to left pulling the scared Finn with him. His heart was beating as fast as his breathing, he felt his blood turned cold when he heard the gun firing. They kept running and running, not sure of where it was they were going anymore. Anywhere but would be nice. Tino squeaked when his bare foot snagged on a upturned root and fell to the ground, whimpering in pain. Emil fell to his knees and tried to help the pained Finn up only to halt in his process at the sound of a twig snapping.

He quickly pulled Tino up and close to him and behind a tree as they heard the faraway sound of leaves and twigs crunching and a dog sniffing the ground eagerly coming closer and closer as menacing-malice filled voice rang out in the silence.

"The game's gone on far enough, sweets! You come to me and I might let you off with a warning..."

Tino whimpered and shivered against Emil as a gunshot sounded in the woods making the man's point. Tino was on the verge of tears as Emil whispered comforting words and stroked that wheat-blonde hair.

They both released small cries when another fire was shot in the air. "Bad little pets need to be punished."

Tino whimpered, clutching the sides of his head trembling against the Icelandic male. Emil held Tino close, unsure of what to do now. He sounded so close, then there were periods where he was far away, Emil wasn't sure on how to proceed. He didn't want Tino and himself exposed to this bastard but at the same time, sitting here and doing nothing wouldn't get them anywhere either. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place... Literally.

"Fuck." Emil whispered.

Emil quickly looked out from behind the tree, checking to see if the coast was clear. Finding nothing or no one, he quickly grabbed Tino's wrist, pulling him back up to his feet and making a dash from the tree. They ran until they heard another gunshot, both men froze and ducked behind another tree as the tree next to them suddenly cracked, leaving a giant hole in its trunk. Tino cried.

"Berwald..." Tino whispered.

"Shit... Where are you, you sick son of a bitch?" Emil growled low in his throat, looking out from behind their hiding spot, shaking like mad.

"Emil... I can't go through with this..." Tino whispered, tears rolling down his face. "He's going to kill us both at this rate!"

"I'm not going down without a fight!" Emil replied, "And I'm not going to let him kill us either!"

"But- But he's got a gun!"

"Don't worry, okay?"

"I can't help it!"

"Then maybe you should have stay in your cage, little blue bird."

Both men froze at the sound of that chilling voice accompanied by a dog growling. They slowly looked over Tino's shoulder and felt as though the world had gave out right underneath them. Troy stood over Tino, hunting rifle held in his hands and a wicked and malicious grin plastered on his face. Blood still dribbled from his head wound.

"No-"

"FUCK!"

Emil felt fear and panic overtake him as he grabbed Tino and attempted run. They barely got a feet away from him when a gunshot rang out and Tino screamed in pain, falling to his knees. Emil gasped as Tino's hand slipped from his own and he quickly fell to his own knees, trying to help Tino back up, upon seeing what caused Tino pain, Emil felt anger and fear grip him.

Tino's right ankle was shredded. A gaping hole was visible where blood began gushing forward, revealing damaged muscle, tendons and shattered bone.

"BASTARD!" Emil screamed.

"Emil... Emil! Run!" Tino cried, gripping his shirt tightly. "Run! It's me and Berwald he wants! If you linger, he's going to kill you!"

"I'm not leaving you." Emil replied, gripping the terrified Finn's hand as Troy walked forward to his fallen prey. "I can't leave you!"

"You have to!"

"I can't Tino! I just can't!"

"Please Emil! Save yourself... I-I-I-I'll be fine!"

"NO! I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!"

"Are we using our brains at last?" He stood over them smirking, as Emil wrapped his arms protectivley around Tino. "I'm so proud of you both."

"Go to Hell." Emil growled.

The smirk soon became a deadly frown. "I think you over-stayed your welcome, Pup..."

He reached out and grabbed Emil by his upper-arm, yanking him harshly onto his feet and toward him. Tino tried to hold Emil back but with little success.

"NO! Troy, please! We won't do it again, HE won't do it again!" Tino tried to stand up only to have the pain in his ankle hold him back. "I'll reason with him better! I promise!" Tino tried his best to hold back his tears. "Please..."

Deaf to Tino's pleads, Troy threw Emil to the ground before grabbing both his hands and wrenching them behind the Icelandic man's back all the while straddling him. Emil squirmed and fought to get the man off of him with little success. He couldn't get his hands free from the man's grasp. He hissed when he heard a small 'zip' accompanied by the feeling of a thin hard band of plastic enclose tightly around his wrists. He craned to over his shoulder to look only to have Troy shove his face roughly into the forest floor.

"Troy don't do this... Please!" Tino cried, grabbing a hold of Troy's shirt. The action only earned Tino sharp back hand slap.

"DON'T HURT HIM YOU SICK SONOFVA-" Emil attempted to retort only to have his face shoved into the dirt once more.

After awhile, Troy stood up pulling Emil along with him and throwing him toward a nearest tree, before pulling out a cloth. Emil watched him closely, eyes narrowed at the cloth while glaring at his captor.

"We're now going to play a game, Pup." He smiled.

"Game?"

"Yes... A game." His smile turned more dark as he approached the tense teen. "We're going to play a game similar to 'Keep Away'."

"Why did you tie me up then?"

"To make it more interesting..." He replied. " About a few miles from here, there is a highway. That highway reaches back into town. To your big brother. You have to reach that highway within an hour."

"Fine..."

"No... Emil..."

"But first..." He quickly wrapped the cloth around Emil's eyes tying it tightly behind his head.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Emil screeched, "Why the Hell did you blindfold me?!"

"To make it interesting." Troy answered, shoving the Icelandic man in one direction. "Tell you what, I'll even be a good sport and give you a 10 minutes head start. How's that?"

Emil didn't answer.

"Good..." Troy smiled. "You can start now..."

"And if I don't comply?"

"Then we'll see how well Tino can play our little game with that leg..."

Emil didn't need telling twice, though he had to take easy first since running into a forest full of trees was a bad idea. He needed to find a way to remove his blindfold and quick. But there was an upside to this. If he could reach the highway and wave someone down then he can get back to town and warn Berwald and Lukas. He had to try!

Troy smiled as he watched Emil slowly disappear into the forest before turning to Tino, who trembled against the tree he was propped against. He lowered himself to eye level with the Finn who tried to back away only to have the dog growl at him, forcing Tino to come closer to Troy, who grabbed him and flipped him onto his stomach, earning him a startled squeak from the Finnish man. Fastening the Finn's hands tightly behind his back, he sat him back up to look into those tear-filled violet eyes.

"Please... Please don't hurt Emil."

"I can't do that, Kitten." He smiled, leaning forward, causing Tino to press his back against the tree. "A bad pet needs to be properly punished."

"Please. Don't do this."

"No choice."

He sealed his lips against Tino's earning him a muffled cry. He smiled into the kiss as Tino tried desperately to break the kiss, only to have gasped and a tongue forced into his own mouth. Troy released his hold on the gasping Tino as he stood up and grabbed his rifle.

"Tuk, stay boy. I got a little mole I need to exterminate."

"NO!" Tino screamed. "NO! LET EMIL GO PLEASE! EMIL! RUN!"

Troy ignored him as he continued his trek after the Iceandic male, smirking as Tino cried and screamed behind him to spare his friend. Checking his gun to make sure it was fully loaded, he called out to though the stillness.

"READY OR NOT PUP, HERE I COME!"


	14. Hit and Run, Hit and Miss

Emil could hear his own heart beat as he tried to keep his thoughts together. Of course, he hardly doubted that this bastard was going to let him off-scott free, but he knew he had to try. He had to save Tino in some way or another and the only option was that highway that monster mentioned.

He was pretty sure his 10 minute head start was up and was pretty positive he had a pretty good head start by now but he couldn't stop, he just couldn't. He slowed to a stop, breathing hard. He was grateful that sometime during his running, his blindfold had slipped allowing him partical sight, only one of his violet eyes peeked from behind the fabric. He looked one direction then another, deciding which way to go, which way the highway was. He whipped his head behind him when he heard a twig snapped finding nothing there.

His breathing became more harder and more panicked when he heard another crunch of a twig, his eyes widen when he caught sight of Troy walking up to him, smiling.

"Hey Pup..." His smile increased tenfold. "I didn't think I'd catch up to you this quickly..."

"No..."

"Then run little Pup. Run."

"No."

He raised his rifle and aimed it at Emil's head. Emil cried in fear and fled as far away from the man as physically possible. Troy smiled, lowering his rifle and began stalking after his panicking prey at a slow and steady pace. Emil ran, not caring where he was going as long as he was far from the sick man. He was beyond scared, he could hear him following behind him not even sweating.

Emil stumbled a few times, never actually falling as he continued to run. He couldn't even describe the fear that flowed through his body and mind. He kept looking behind him briefly, catching glimpses of the smirking bastard every now and then spurning him to push forward. Hot tears trailed down his cheeks. He had to get away. He had to save Tino.

Over the sound of steady crunching of forest floor, Emil could've sworn he heard the sound of cars zooming fast somewhere. The highway was near! Thank God! Now if he could just find the highway or road then this bastard couldn't do anything, right?

He thought wrong.

He heard a gunshot rip through the silent forest and he felt a sharp pain in shoulder near his heart, before he fell and everything went black.

* * *

Tino sat there against the tree, silently praying for Emil's safety. Troy left him no less than forty minutes ago to pursue the Icelandic male, leaving the Finnish man tied up with a damaged limb and a somewhat unfriendly dog. He sighed, before closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the tree, a shaky breath escaping his lips.

_'Please be okay Emil. I don't know what I'm going to do if something bad happened to you... I don't know how I'll ever face Lukas again.'_

He felt his world being swallowed by some dark force upon hearing a gunshot in the distance as a flock a birds escaped the treetops, clearly in distress. No. No. Tino felt a fresh wave of hot tears trail down his cheeks and a harsh sob escaped his lips as one conclusion drifted into his mind.

Emil was dead.

_'Forgive me Lukas...'_

* * *

But Emil wasn't dead.

If he had to be honest, he wasn't entirely sure on how he wasn't dead. But there he lied on his stomach, breathing softly, quietly and heart still pumping after surviving the bite of a bullet that he was pretty sure, was aimed at his heart. He lied motionless as he heard his attacker approach him, he hoped that if he lied still long enough, Troy would believe him to be dead and leave his 'corspe' to the wild animals, giving Emil a chance to get help. He hoped.

He heard Troy sigh. "It's a shame really... I never even got to play with him."

Emil dearly wanted to give him a sarcastic remark but decided against it. For his sake as well as Tino's.

"A pity... But that was probably how she died too..."

He heard Troy drag something against the ground, making a odd clunking sound as it hit a couple of stones littered here and there; he brought a shovel. He was going bury him. Bury him alive, without even realizing it. Though if Emil was honest with himself, he hardly doubted that Troy would care one way or the other.

"I wonder..."

Emil's thought process halted. What did that mean? He remained still as he felt Troy leaned over him and out of the corner of his partially opened eye, Emil saw him pull out a switchblade and began sawing though the zip tie. Emil felt his wrists being released from their confines and allowed them to fall to his sides. He waited to see what it was Troy would do.

For his part, Troy seemed pleased with Emil's lack of movement as he gingerly placed the Icelandic male's right arm out farther from his body, triggering a small shock of pain from the bullet wound. Emil wasn't sure as to what he was doing, but he wasn't going to anything. Least he really wanted to die. What happened next made Emil really regret not moving or saying anything.

With a loud swish and sickening, blood-churning crack, Troy had brought the shovel down hard on Emil's arm, and effectively breaking it in two and maybe multiple pieces. It took nearly every fiber of the Icelandic man's being to re-frame from screaming in pain and keeping his body from reacting violently to the pain. He could feel the hot tears prickle in the corners his eyes but he willed them away and kept from trembling as best as could.

It must have worked, as he could partially see Troy smirk, before walking around Emil and jabbed the shovel into the earth a few feet away from the Icelander. Emil re framed from moving as much as possible as he watched the sick bastard dig his grave, humming as he did so. After about 20 minutes, he returned to the "dead body", and lifted it up bridal style, causing the damaged limb to be moved wrong and Emil to really work hard at not moving or breathing to noticeably in pain.

He felt himself being lowered gently back on the ground, no doubtedly in that hole he dug up not to long ago. Through his barely opened eyes, Emil could see that the bastard was regarding him, what confused him most was that Troy regarded him with look of pleasure but with a mix of another emotion... Regret, maybe?

"Poor thing... You must have been so scared." He felt Troy brush a thumb across his eye, wiping away a tear. "But at least you're in a better place now... You won't have to be scared anymore. It's funny how you look so much like her... You even acted similar to her. I miss her, Selana."

Emil dearly wanted to ask him on what he meant and who 'Selana' was, but decided against it as he felt Troy's heat lean over as he placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, before the heat disappeared and a scrape of a shovel could be heard. Emil could feel his heartbeat increase as he felt the dirt being shoveled on him, starting with his feet and traveling up. He could feel the dirt reaching then covering his neck and sprinkling his face, taking a deep but unnoticeable deep breath, Emil prepared for what's coming next.

Dirt was shoveled onto his face covering him entirely in almost a foot of earth. As soon as he was sure no more then 5 inches of dirt was on him, he quickly brought his good hand and covered his nose and mouth, preserving what little oxygen he had. He wasn't sure on how long he had been lying there covered by a foot of dirt, but with his oxygen slowly dwindling he decided to risk the chance of being discovered alive to gain more oxygen. With his only good arm, he frantically began digging himself out of his shallow grave.

After 5 minutes, more like a grueling lifetime of eternity to Emil, he finally pulled himself out of his grave, gulping air into his hungry lungs. He whimpered as attempted to pull his damaged arm out of the buried hole as gingerly as possible. Fuck that bastard...

Emil pulled himself out of his shallow grave and sat up looking around wildly at his surroundings, seeing no one there, he looked to the direction that would supposedly hold the highway. Gripping his right arm, he concluded that Troy had left. Left to return to Tino and probably torture him. He slowly and unsteadily got to his feet and began walking the direction he believed the highway to be.

* * *

Feliciano Vargas had to be the most happiest man on the face of the planet. Upon hearing from his fiance of 2 months that he was called into work and wouldn't be back for a while, the Italian man decided to take advantage of this free time get his Luddy a special gift while the German was out. His haircurl bounced from the left side of his head as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel of his Ford mustang, hair flowing through the wind while he humming a joyful tune.

Feliciano looked a lot like his brother, Lovino; save for the fact his hair was a lighter shade of brunette and had big bright brown eyes. He was paler in compareson to Lovino and with a personality more friendly and gentler then his older brother's. He trembled excitedly.

_'I can't wait for Doitsu see his surprise!'_

He was pulled out of his thoughts when a bedraggled silver haired young man walked out of nowhere onto the road clutching his right arm; unaware he was walking into the pathway of Feliciano's oncoming vehicle. The Italian man panicked and quickly swerved as he stomped the brakes in order to avoid hitting the man. The mustang came to a screeching halt, earning the the young man's attention, who froze in place staring at the mustang with wide violet eyes. The left hand side of the front bumper gently bumped the man in his hip, not enough to kill or crippled the boy, but enough to cause him to land on his ass, crying out in pain from the gentle impact on both his right arm and hip.

"OH NO!" Feliciano quickly jumped out of his car and ran to the fallen man. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry! I-I-I didn't see you! I swear! I'M SO SORRY!"

He blinked when he realized, on closer inspection, that the young man's entire right arm was drenched with fresh blood while caked with old blood and was bearing rapidly appearing bruises. His breathing was a bit ragged as though he had just ran a marathon and he struggled to remain in an upright position with his shaky left arm, trying to pick himself off of the ground. Feliciano may have not been the brightest student in his year but even he knew there was something wrong with this picture.

"Hey... Are- Are you okay?"

The boy didn't answer. He raised his head revealing his violet eyes, clouded with pain and confusion to the concerned Italian. Feliciano gasped.

"E- Emil? Is- Is that you?"

And it was. Emil Steilsson. The younger brother of a friend of Ludwig's, covered in dirt and blood, carrying a fractured limb. Emil blinked a couple more times, trying to clear his vision, before he attempted to speak.

"H- Hel- Help me... Tino, he... Trouble... Troy, Selana..."

Feliciano blinked. Help? Tino? Troy? Selana? What did he or Tino need help with? Who was Troy and Selana? Why did he look so beaten?

"Emil? What's wrong? What-"

As the Italian opened his mouth to question the Icelandic youth on the meaning of his message, Emil fell back to the ground and passed out, scaring the poor Italian worse than before.

"Oh no... Please don't be dead. PLEASE OH PLEASE don't be dead."

Feliciano quickly began looking for a pulse on the unconscious body. Finding a faint one, Feliciano sighed in relief. Thank the Gods. He quickly jumped back up on to his feet and quickly opened the trunk to pull out a picnic blanket and wrapped it tightly around Emil. With strength not even he knew he had, the Italian man lifted the wounded boy in his arms bridal style and quickly placed gently and securely in the back of his car before he jumped back into the driver's seat and sped off down the road.

He had to get Emil to a doctor and fast. He quickly pulled out his cellphone as tears began threatening to fall down his cheeks. Hopefully, Ludwig will know what to do.

* * *

Ludwig for his part, was trying to keep his growing anxiety and panic in control as he, Arthur and Ivan flipped trough 56 case files. Berwald, Mathias and Lukas all held each other as they prayed in their native tongues for Emil's and Tino's safety, when everyone heard Ludwig's cellphone go off. He pulled it out of his pocket to look at the ID and sighed in annoyance. It was his fiance, Feliciano. He flipped it open and answered the incoming call.

"What, Feli? This better be good."

As Ludwig waited for an answer, everyone returned back to their original positions, looking over various notes.

"Feli, you know that crying isn't going to get you anywhere." Ludwig sighed in annoyance, massaging his temples. "You need to take a deep breath and tell me what there is that needs to be tell..."

"Aw. He misses you." Tim smirked, earning him a glare from the German.

"Why on earth are you at the hospital?" Ludwig growled. "What did you do this time?"

This caught Arthur's attention. He looked up from the paperwork he and Ivan were mulling over to regard the German man carefully.

"Well, at least you didn't injure him too badly and you took responsibility..." Ludwig massaged his temples once again. "But why did you almost run over him the first place?"

There was a pause and everyone was now listening into the conservation between Ludwig and his soon-to-be husband.

"He came out of nowhere?" Ludwig asked in disbelief. "And what did he say pray tell?"

Everyone waited, watching Ludwig as his eyes began widening, startling everyone.

"Did the kid you run over give you his name by chance?"

That piqued everyone's interest as they all watched Ludwig slowly stand up, gripping his chair tightly.

"He didn't but you're positive it's him..." He looked over at Mathias, Lukas and Berwald. "I'll be sure to tell him. No, stay where you are, we'll come to you. Love you too, bye."

He turned to Arthur, looking grim and nervous.

"Ludwig?" Arthur asked.

He looked away from the Englishman's green eyes, turning to face Lukas, who gulped and held Mathias tighter. Ludwig looked scared, unsure how to approach the Norwegian man.

"Feliciano's found Emil on a country road 15 miles west from where we found Peter." Lukas' breath hitched slightly. "He's been placed under intensive care at the hospital with serious injuries."

* * *

**Chapter 14! Ta-Dah! :3**

**Please review and tell me what you all think?**


	15. The Story

He could hear the loud voices as his head pulsed and head-throbbing beeping sounds threatened to split his head open. Everything was so garbled, fuzzy and painful, his head was throbbing and beating with pain. He groaned, turning his head side to side.

"I think he's coming to, man."

"Grazie al cielo!" Another voice said. It sounded as though the owner had been crying. "Grazie al cielo!"

"Indeed..."

Emil cracked his eyes open, pain shooting up into his brain as the bright light came in contact with his weakened eyes. He whimpered in pain.

"Hey, Snowflake man, can you- Hmm?"

"EMIL!"

"Hey hey hey, relax my little Fairytale..."

"I CAN'T! I NEED TO SEE EMIL! HE NEEDS ME! DON'T YOU DARE STOP ME, HIPPIE!"

"L... L-Lukas..." Emil whimpered, recognizing the owner by his shouting, opening his eyes wider, allowing the world to swim into better focus. His whole head felt as though someone plunged a stake through his head.

He gasped as the white-bordered ceiling came into view. He looked to one side eyes widening at the sight of a machine beeping and connected to his left arm. He felt himself panic, quickly looking to the other side of his bed, spotting a a young man with brunette hair sitting in a chair trying reason with someone and a dark haired man at the door restraining...

"LUKAS!"

"EMIL! Takk Gudene!" Lukas maneuvered around the dark haired man to reach his brother, cradling his now casted hand. "Oh bror... What has that bastard done to you?"

Emil struggled to sit in an upright position just as Mathias, Berwald, Ludwig, Antonio and Arthur filed in. Emil whimpered as Lukas and Mathias helped him. Lukas was practically sobbing, surprising everyone present, as no one had seen the Norwegian man show any other emotion save for anger and neutrality.

"Owen, long time no see old chap. Tell me, what are his injuries?" Arthur turned to the dark haired man.

The man, Owen, smiled sadly as he pulled out his notebook and clipboard. He was a slender olive-tan skinned young man with long raven hair that he kept in a low ponytail, it had a red streak in his bangs that hung over his right eye. Like Feliciano, he too kept his eyes closed. He wore a professional doctor's uniform.

"He has a fractured arm and sustained a bullet wound to his shoulder blade." Owen clicked his tongue. "From the looks of the wound, I'd say the person who shot him probably used a sniper rifle at far distance. Looks like the shoulder bone plate was what saved his heart. The arm was broken after the supposed 'fatal' shot."

"THE BASTARD SHOT HIM?!" Lukas roared. "AND BROKE HIS FUCKING ARM?!"

"Bróðir... Please." Emil whispered, grasping his brother's arm with his hand, trying to soothe Lukas' growing anger.

"Tino..." Berwald trembled.

"What else did Emil sustain?" Ludwig asked as he cradled a wreck of an Italian lover. "Feliciano told me he hit him with his car..."

"It-It-It w-w-was an a-accident..." Feliciano peeked though Ludwig's arms to look at Lukas. His face red and stained with tears. "I-I'm sooo sorry- I didn't mean..."

"You didn't hit him hard enough to sustain anymore damage, my Kindred spirit..." Owen replied, giving the sobbing Italian a gentle pat as he flicked through the papers. "All he sustained from the impact of your mustang was a dislocated hip and a twisted wrist as well as a couple of cuts and bruises here and there."

"Who did this to you?" Lukas asked, gently cupping Emil's face. "I promise you, I will find him and I will make him pay..."

"First, I demand an explanation..." Emil's fearful face turned hard. "I won't tell you anything til I receive some answers as to what is going on."  
Lukas blanched a bit before turning to look at Antonio and Arthur, unsure how to approach this. Antonio sighed.

"We might as well tell him since he was involved. We don't know how much this guy's already told him but we can't back out now. We need to get Tino back."

"I agree." Arthur nodded.

Lukas sighed before turning to face his harden sibling. "I'll tell you everything. But you're not going to believe me..."

"Try me."

* * *

"Why have you never told me?" Emil asked, staring at his brother in disbelief. "I thought we agreed not to keep secrets from each other Lukas!"

"We did..." Lukas sighed. "But I couldn't speak a word of the Hetalia Secretum Vigilum mostly because I was forbidden and partially, I was afraid to get you involved..."

"And look where it got Tino!"

"That... That wasn't his fault." Berwald muttered. "I don't recall ever telling Tino anything about the Guild..."

"It didn't stop this bastard from taking and beating on Tino." Emil argued.

"No, it didn't." Berwald hung his head. "But this man only took Tino to get even with me on something I don't even remember ever doing to him."

"So, Emil can you tell us something about yours and Tino's kidnapper." Arthur asked, "Any information is crucial on getting him back alive..."

Emil took a deep breath before he looked to everyone around the room.

"His name is Troy Sanchez." Emil held a steady breath. "I don't know much about him any better than you do."

"Troy Sanchez?" Ludwig blinked as Feliciano jerked awake a little. "Wait- I know him!"

"What?!" Everyone turned to look at the German in shock.

"YOU KNEW HIM?!" Lukas roared.

"He worked in our Guild under Ivan." Ludwig explained as he bounced the Italian in his arms back to sleep.

"So we have a traitor in our midst." Arthur growled, "Is he still there? Where is he?"

"No. I don't even know where he is now." Ludwig sighed. "He vanished 6 years ago. Quit."

"He mentioned someone named 'Selana'." Emil suddenly said, eyes widening. "A little after he broke my arm, before he buried me..."

"Selana?" Arthur asked, turning to Emil then Berwald. "Do any of you know a 'Selana'?"

"No."

"I was hoping you knew..."

"Hm..." Arthur stroked his chin. "Ludwig, do you know exactly when Troy quit?"

"May 16th."

"Look for cases that happened when he still worked at the Guild. Preferably a year to a week before he quit."

"There was one... But it didn't meet your earlier request..."

"Pull it out!"

"Yes sir!"

Ludwig began fumbling for his bag, trying to open it as Arthur rounded on Emil who shrunk a little into his brother's arms.

"Emil?" Arthur called softly, placing his hand on the Icelandic boy's uninjured shoulder. "What else can you tell us about him?"

"Not much..." Emil frowned, thinking hard. "He treated us like we were pets, children maybe. When he grew angry, frustrated, his demeanor changed... He became more- animal-like, violent, completely insane..." He looked into the stoic lime green eyes. "I somehow think this Selana girl and Berwald's job is connected to his mental instability."

"How often had Troy experienced his violent outbursts?"

"I've only seen him at it twice. When I helped Peter escaped and the second time when I tried to escape with Tino."

"What became of Tino?" Berwald asked, dreading the answer. "Was he..."

"I don't know..." Emil hung his head in shame as Matthias rubbed his back soothingly. "My best bet is after Troy left me for dead, he went back to Tino... To teach him a lesson and to torture him with the guilt of my 'death'."

"How come Tino didn't take the chance to run while Troy chased you?" Lukas asked.

"He couldn't." Emil looked to Lukas. "The bastard shot his leg-"

"HE WHAT?!"

Berwald felt his heart stop, his lungs halting make it difficult for him to breath; like he was being strangled. He looked to the Icelandic teen, eyes wide, hoping, just hoping that the youth was kidding, hoping he would laugh and say he was kidding; anything to wash away this fear. He needed breath again and fast.

"He shot Tino." Emil repeated, looking anywhere but the Swede's eyes. "Not to kill him, but to maim him and render him trapped. I-I couldn't leave him. He begged me to leave him and seek help... But I couldn't. I just couldn't." Tears began to fall from his eyes. "Because of that, I'm here now... I had to save Tino. Like he did for me..."

"Like he did for you?" Matthias repeated, blinking. "What do you mean?"

"He- He..." Emil faltered, unsure how to proceed. Surely Berwald suffered enough, hearing that Tino was shot, right?

"What was Troy going to do to you that caused Tino to take a stand and take your place?" Arthur asked. "I understand it must be hard to recount the horrors but you must tell us so we may punish the evil properly."

"He..." Emil trailed off in a mumble.

"I didn't catch that." Arthur leaned in a little closer.

"TINO WAS RAPED IN MY PLACE!" Emil roared in frustration, cheeks bright red as tears flowed more freely down his face. A sob escaped the Icelandic boy's throat. "After hearing him in so much pain and suffer total humiliation, I had to save him. Rescue him from that hellhole. I wanted to know why he did it, I told him I'd be fine... You know what he said to me?"

Berwald didn't answer as he watched the once solemn yet prideful young man break down, feeling tears escaping down his own face at the sight.

"What?" Lukas asked.

"He said that if he allowed the bastard to take me, YOU wouldn't forgive him!" Emil looked to Lukas with anger and resentment. "He was convinced that you would hate him for life if he didn't protect me Lukas!"

"The idiot." Lukas replied, hugging Emil close as his own tears threaten to fall. "Of course I would've forgiven him. I just wouldn't forgive the bastard who would have done it... I'm so sorry, Emil..."

"Don't apologize to me." Emil glowered. "Apologize to him! If he's still alive..."

"Don't talk like that..."

"We'll get him back." Antonio nodded, "All you have to do Emil is lead us to his hideout."

"NO!"

"WHAT?!"

Everyone was taken back by the Icelandic teen's shout.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Lukas demanded. "You're now going to leave Tino to die?!"

"No!" Emil repeated, before launching into his explanation. "No. You must make it sound like you found out about him by yourselves."

"Why?" Antonio asked.

"I've witnessed his emotional instability." Emil answered. "And here's my theory; If he finds out that I'm alive, he might turn and kill Tino to wipe out all evidence before disappearing. You must make him believe that you believe he still holds me hostage along with Tino. As far as Troy's convinced, I'm dead and buried in a shallow grave 3/4 mile away from his house."

"So you want us to trick him into revealing his location?" Antonio asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Yes."

"That's pretty clever." Arthur smirked. "Maybe once this is over, we could have you join our guild."

"No way!" Lukas wrapped his arms protectively around Emil. Almost suffocating the poor teen."He's too young!"

"I'm old enough!" Emil retorted, trying to shove the Norwegian man off of him. "You can't keep me in a protective bubble forever! I want to join this Guild and nothing you say or do is going to stop me, Lukas!"

Lukas opened his mouth, ready to retort when he was suddenly cut off as Ludwig pulled out the case file they sought with a yell. "FOUND IT!"

"Found what?" Feliciano asked sleepily.

"Nothing Feli, just go back to sleep."

"Ok..."

"Good good. Let us see."

Arthur held out his hand, allowing the German man to press the folder into his waiting palm. He began flipping through it, his eyes furrowed in concentration as they jumped from one page to another.

"This was the last case Troy help us with before vanishing, correct?"

"Indeed."

"Let's head back to my house and work out our plan."

* * *

**All of the last week was rather stressing to say the least, but at least I got this bad boy out after a while... /3**


	16. Set Up

Nothing.

That was all he knew now. He wasn't sure on how exactly he got back to his 'prison', lying on his side tied up in the living room area and currently being used as a foot stool, but all he knew was that he was back and only one thought ran through his head.

Emil was dead.

Tears trickled down his face into the soft carpet below, but he was beyond the point of caring now. Emil was right. Tino should have done something rather than wait and now because the Finnish man didn't see the wisdom of these words before, Emil had payed the ultimate price.  
He was dimly aware that Troy was talking to him as the television flashed images but again, he was beyond the point of caring. He was even beyond the hoping. There was nothing left for Tino except the likelihood of being this man's toy till he got bored. He let a small whine escape his mouth when he felt the man dig his foot into his hip.

"I asked if you learned anything from this Kitten." He growled, his foot digging deeper into his side.

"Yes Sir." Tino replied toneless and dead. "I will never run away again... Master."

"Good boy."

Tino didn't respond as he shifted his attention to the flashing images, mind completely elsewhere. He blinked upon hearing a phone ringing.

"Well what do know. I just the guy I've been dying to hear from." Troy smirked as he looked at the caller id on the cellphone. "My old buddy, Berwald."

"Berwald...?"

Tino felt a perk in his voice as the name slipped past his lips. Was it hope? Tino didn't know nor did he care, all he wanted was to hear Berwald's voice once again. Again before he met the same fate as Emil.

"Aw- You missed him." Troy smiled sweetly. Way too sweetly. "Let's put him on speaker phone shall we?"

Tino didn't respond.

"If it isn't my old friend, Berwald." A smirk was painted across his lips. "Whatever can I do for you?"

_"Game's over... Troy."_

Tino could here the venom in the Swede's voice as he replied to Troy's response.

"Took you guys long enough." Troy replied, grin widening. "And I suppose you want Kitten back, huh?"

_"And Emil."_

Tino's eyes widen at the familiar name as Troy's smile became more feral.

"Ooh- Don't think I can do that..."

_"Why?"_

_"WHERE'S EMIL?! LET ME SPEAK TO HIM!"_

Tino felt fresh hot tears stinging his eyes at the familiar shouting at the other end of the phone. Lukas.

"Let's just say he's out..."

_"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!"_ Came the reply as Tino dimly heard the sound of shuffling in the background. _"LET ME GO, YOU WORTHLESS CREATURES! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BROTHER?!"_

"Don't you worry about it, Lukas." Troy replied, fingering his rifle. "You'll see."

_"NO! YOU SONAVA- YOU TELL ME WHERE EMIL IS!"_

_"A deal's a deal, Troy."_ Came Berwald's voice. _"We completed the task you set before us, now return Emil and Tino to us."_

"Tell me what you found out and I'll gladly keep my end of the bargain"

_"Your name is Troy Sanchez. You were once a member of Ivan's team 6 years ago until you quit in May."_

"And why did I quit Berwald?"

_"Because I slaughtered a slave trafficking ring 6 years back... Including a young woman who was involved named Selana..."_

"Took you long enough I suppose."

_"A deal was a deal, Troy."_

"I suppose it was." Troy heaved a fake sigh. "Meet me at the abandoned warehouse in 3 hours. The warehouse of that massacre, Berwald and I'll return Kitten home."

_"And Emil. Return Emil to us as well, Troy."_

_"RETURN EMIL TO ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!"_ Lukas yelled, likely from the other side of the room at the other end._ "IF YOU DON'T RETURN HIM- I SWEAR TO ANY AND ALL GODS-"_

"The deal only covered Tino, Berwald." Troy's smile seemed to became more malicious. Tino's eyes widen at sudden realization.

"NO! BERWALD DON-"

Tino couldn't finish his warning as Troy's foot came into contact with the side of his head. All Tino could do now was whimper.

_"TINO! YOU-"_

"Now as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, the deal only covered your Kitten." Troy smirked. "What do you plan to do get the poor Pup back?"

_"We can discuss it at the Warehouse if you wish."_ Berwald replied darkly. _"Your choice."_

"Very well." Troy's smile seemed to have grown bigger. "See you all in 3 hours. Bring any and all you like, Berwald."

_"I plan to..."_

_"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"_

"Good..."

* * *

"That was good..." Antonio smiled, "What do you guys think?"

"It was perfect." Emil smiled. "I actually can't believe he bought all that... Good acting on your part Lukas."

Lukas smirked. "Thanks."

"So now what?" Mathias asked. "What if he doesn't give Tino back? What if was all a ploy just to kill Berwald?"

"I thought of that myself." Ivan replied. "If it was so then why would he want Berwald to invite all of us when we could retaliate if he did want to kill him, da?"

"Eh-" Mathias derped.

"We'll worry about that later." Arthur replied, waving his hand impatiently. "Let's focus on getting Tino and 'Emil' back."

Don't worry Tino, I'm coming. He gently fingered the ring box in his pocket.

* * *

**Sorry about that really long update guys... Work and College are slowly if not surely, killing me.**

**I promise that the next update won't take as long.**


	17. Clever Trap

Three hours couldn't go by fast enough for Berwald. He worried and fretted constantly to the point that Arthur lost his temper and literally, threw Berwald into his car and decided that they might as well head to the warehouse and prepare for the exchange. That's where they were now.

Berwald waited outside the warehouse door, waiting for Troy and Tino. Hoping and waiting.

"Now remember." Emil said from the car. "You must make him think he has me. It must be very convicing. I'm talking to you Mathias..."

"I got it, I got it. Jeez."

"Normally you don't..."

"Just get to hiding from the bastard's sight, dammit Emil."

Berwald for his part, just nodded.

Minutes ticked by and Berwald could feel his heart pump faster almost to the point of bursting. Many questions were buzzing in his head. Was Tino okay? Why did this Selana girl cause a once good man like Troy to snap? If Tino survived all this, how in all the worlds was the Swede going to explain all of this to him?

His head snapped up from his musings when he heard the roar of an engine that was followed by the appearance of a black four-door Jeep Cherokee pulled up. Berwald never felt so nervous in his life. Not for himself, oh no, but for Tino. He fingered the box in his pocket once again.

"Huh. You guys are awfully early." Troy smirked as he walked out of the car, opening the trunk. "We still had another 25 minutes before the scheduled time..."

"Enough." Arthur replied. "Enough of this foul game, Troy. Hand Tino over."

Troy's face was darken fairly fast. "Was I talking to you, Kirkland?"

Arthur didn't answer right away. "Does it matter?"

"It does." Troy responded. "Or maybe it doesn't... To you..."

"What are you talking about?"

Troy just smiled before he yanked a bound and gagged Tino doned in a Catholic girl's school uniform out of the trunk and onto the concrete floor. Berwald held his breathe, feeling his heart stopping right then and there. Tino blinked and looked up with purple eyes, darken and devoid of any hope or happiness but upon the sight of seeing Berwald, his eyes lite up with tears and utter joy as he tried saying something that was muffled by the cloth.

"Tino..." Berwald whispered, smiling weakly after almost a month and feeling his own tears as he reached out for the Finn. "Oh Gods, Tino."

"Woah, hold the phone there, Jethro." Troy smiled as he aimed a small handgun at the back of Tino's head. "There's still a few things we need to clear up first..."

Berwald withdrew his hand and glared hard at Troy. "Indeed."

"Hey! Woah!" Mathias suddenly shouted, grabbing both men's attention. "I thought the deal was to uncover your identity and you would return Finny to us!"

"Yes." Troy just smiled. This surely can't be a good sign. "But with every payment there is a little thing called 'interest'."

"Wha-"

"True." Berwald cut in, earning him looks of shock from the group. "What's the other half of the payment that needs paying?"

"You really want your Kitten back that much huh?"

"And Emil." Lukas suddenly spoke up. "We also demand Emil's safe return."

"Hmm. Turns out I can't manage that." Troy's smile turned more dark as Tino turned away from the group, hanging his head in shame.

"What do you mean?" Lukas asked, eyes widening slightly. "What have you done to him?"

"It's not what I did..." Troy's smile grew wider. "It's what Tino did..."

"What are you talking about?" Berwald demanded.

"See- Apparently, Kitten here, fed the Pup an idea of escaping instead of waiting for Berwald." Gods, if looks could kill. "So they ran. I had to teach them both a lesson."

"Lesson?" Antonio asked.

"Indeed. Which is how Kitten here ended up crippled." He gestured to Tino's wounded leg, before his grin became more feral. "And Pup paid the biggest price of them all..."

"What price?" Lukas demanded, as Mathias wrapped his arms around the Norwegian male. "What did you do to him?!"

"It's obvious, yes?" Troy answered, before bending down and wrapping an arm around Tino's neck, forcing the Finn to reveal his tear streaked face. "I had to, for the politer way of saying, put him down..."

At those precise words, Lukas screamed, tears flowing down his face as he struggled to escape his husband's hold on him to reach the bastard who stole his brother. Berwald stared wide-eyed at the man in front of him.

"You lie..."

"No way would I lie." Troy replied, standing back up. "I can even show you if you like before I die. His grave's about 3 miles from here, I believe. Hell, you can ask Kitten here yourself. He saw it all, didn't you?"

Berwald looked to the Finn, who in turned looked away as more tears escaped down his face. Berwald could feel his anger growing as Lukas sobbed into Mathias' shoulder as the Dane rubbed soothing circles in his back, uttering words of comfort.

"Why are you doing this?" Berwald asked.

"Pardon?"

"Why. Are. You. Doing. This?" Berwald repeated, much slower.

"Why am I doing this?" Troy's face suddenly became hard, clutching the handgun tightly. "That's a good question Oxenstierna. Why am I doing this?"

Berwald didn't respond.

"I'm doing this because I wish for you understand what it was like for me." Troy growled. "What it was like when I lost everything the night you killed Selana."

"You didn't lose everything!" Arthur interjected. "You had your job, you had us. We could've helped you."

"But you didn't." Troy shook his head, laughing sarcastically. "In the Guild, when it came to a mission, nothing else mattered. All that mattered was getting the mission done, we cared not who got in our way."

"That's- That's not true..." Ivan replied. "We kept innocents and our loved ones away from the danger..."

"Couldn't be said about me." Troy replied. "Selana got in the way... It sure as hell didn't stop Berwald..."

"I..." Berwald clearly didn't understand.

"She was part of a Human trafficking ring." Arthur interjected. "You knew that. That was why it took us 8 months to stop them. You were helping the girl..."

"She wanted out!" Troy shouted. "But she couldn't escape. I tried telling you assholes, but all I got was a bunch of self-righteous crap through your poor communication skills!"

"We can still talk about th-"

"No. No, we can't." Troy muttered, lowering the gun. "I tried a month prior to her death. If you wouldn't listen then, you sure as hell won't listen now."

"We can try." Berwald said, holding his hand out. "Just put down the gun, release Tino and we can talk. I really want to help you, Troy, I wish to spare you the 'Death Penalty'. Despite all that you have done, you are still our friend, our brother."

Troy didn't respond. He glared darkly, raising the gun once more to Tino's head.

"Alright. We can talk now." Berwald sighed, holding his hands up. "Just don't hurt Tino."

"It's funny isn't?" Troy chuckled. "I believe I said the same thing and you still slit her throat..."

"I didn't know who she was." Berwald whispered. "I was only told to wipe out the Slave ring, leave no criminal standing."

"Then let's learn about her, shall we?" Troy replied, lowering the gun once more.

"Proceed."

"Selana was a woman who was kind, sweet and painfully shy." Troy replied. "I met her three years prior to her assassination. Short, simple and to the point, she and I fell in love."

Berwald nodded. Troy studied him carefully before continuing.

"Sometime during the year that would lead to the assassination, I found out what she did for a living and she with me. She told me she want to back out of her line of work and live normal life, I told her there was a way possible. As I tried to find that way, I had to keep her away from danger, even if it meant death on my part."

"That was how the Ring stayed three steps ahead of us." Arthur whispered, eyes widening. "You were giving them information on our process and operatives' locations."

"I did what I could to save her." Troy snarled at Arthur. "I was willing to accept the consequences of my hacking, but you clearly have no idea what it was like to be in love, do you Arthur?"

"Of course, I do you bloody wanker!" Arthur interjected hotly. "I have someone I love very much! As almost as much as you did with this Selana girl..."

"Do you love them enough to face the death penalty, just to save them from an organized crime?"

"Eh-"

"Didn't think so..." Troy smiled smugly. "Maybe I need to make an example... Tino and Berwald maybe?"

He raised the gun back up, aiming it at the back of Tino's head. For his part, Tino just trembled and gave off a small whimper. Troy grinned as he readied himself to pull the trigger.

"NO!" Berwald screamed. "Don't kill him! Take me instead... Please."

Troy blinked. Utterly confused by the Swede's reaction. This wasn't what he was expecting. "Pardon?"

"Take me instead." Berwald repeated hanging his head. "You can do what you will with me, just- just let Tino go... Don't make him pay for I did to you."

"So you're willing to take his place?" Troy grinned, tapping the gun against the side of his neck. Maybe this could work out after all. "That's awfully sweet... And what of Emil? I killed him, didn't I?"

"I-" Berwald turned to Lukas.

"B-B-bastard..." Was all Lukas could offer.

"It matters not." Berwald sighed. "I'll take Tino's place."

"Hmm..." Troy pondered. Tino rapidly shook his head. "Ya' know, out of of my entire career working for you guys this probably the first I've seen it... Begging..."

"Will you except?" Berwald asked.

"No..."

"What?" Berwald asked, taken back.

"No..." Troy repeated.

He bent down and began cutting Tino free from his bounds. Everyone even Tino stared at the man in complete confusion as he removed the cloth from the Finn's mouth. Why?

"I guess talking it out was better..." He mused as he lifted the Finn to his feet, shoving him into Berwald's direction. "Who knew..."

Tino stumbled a little, pain shooting up his leg as he did so. He looked to Berwald then quickly back at Troy, before he looked back at the Swede and with what power he could through the pain, Tino ran right into Berwald's waiting arms crying and holding him tight.

"Just like that?" Antonio asked, doubt in his voice.

"Just like that." Troy repeated smiling.

"And you think you'll get away with your crimes, by doing just that?" Arthur asked, gun raised.

"Not really..." Something was off.

Berwald wasn't paying attention as held Tino close, missing the feeling of holding a warm body. He lifted Tino's head gently and smiled as Tino returned it.

"I knew you would save me..." Was all the Finn could utter before he buried his face back into the Swede's chest. "I missed you so much."

"So did I..." Berwald smiled through his tears. "Let's get you home."

Tino nodded as Berwald lead him gently to the car as Ivan approached Troy with a warrant for his arrest. Tino looked over Berwald's shoulder as best as he could to see Troy was still staring at Berwald's back. Almost in slow motion, Tino saw him raise the gun in his hand as Ivan and Arthur yelled at him to drop his weapon, as he aimed the gun directly at Berwald's back, Tino's violet eyes widen.

"NO!"

With what little strength Tino still had, he shoved Berwald out of the line of fire as a loud bang echoed in the clearly in large warehouse followed by several others. Tino felt a sharp pain in his chest and something hot and wet dribbled down. He could hear Berwald scream as both Tino and Troy fell to the ground. Tino struggled to remain awake at Berwald's pleading but found it increasingly difficult.

Soon the darkness consumed the Finnish man.

* * *

**Yes! Chapter 17! Finally, I think I'm getting somewhere! X3**


	18. Coming About

Tino was scared. The darkness was surrounding him, crushing him. He wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. But he couldn't. His arms wouldn't move.

He wanted Berwald.

Where was he, he had no idea. All he remembered was a bite of a bullet near his heart and then this abyss of darkness swallowed him completely. He had no idea what became of Troy, he had no idea if Lukas found out that Emil was dead and Berwald... What happened to Berwald?

Tino tried calling out, hoping someone could hear him, help him. So far the attempts had all been futile. No one was there. No one will help him. Darkness was the only thing that answered his calls. How he wished Berwald was here.

He had no idea how much time has happened since he had been shot. All he knew was that he kept calling out into the darkness, hoping someone would respond.

_Is anyone there?_

No reply.

_Please... I'm really scared._

Nothing.

_Berwald... Berwald, please help me. I'm really, really scared._

Still nothing. Tino was on the verge of tears now, no one was coming, no one was going to save him. He was going to die in this black abyss and there will be no one to save him_._

_Tino?_

Tino blinked at the sound of the distant voice. It sounded far away in the deepest part of a cave somewhere. He sat up. Why did it sound so familiar?

_Hello? Is someone there?_ He called out, praying. _Can anyone hear me?_

_Tino..._ The voice replied._ Please wake up._

_But I am awake._ He told the voice._ Please. Please help me._

_Try and wake up... For me._

_But I am._ Tino protested. _See? Can you see me?_

_I think he's coming to._ Came another voice. Familiar.

_Tino? Tino? Can you hear me?"_

_Yes. Yes, I can hear you..._

* * *

Berwald was scared. Never in his entire life had he been this scared.

Almost a week past since everything happened. Tino's kidnapping, the chase, the game, the shooting... It seemed that the world was trying to crush the poor Swedish man. So far, it seemed to be succeeding.

Berwald refused to leave Tino's side, not even for a second. Not to eat, not to go home and not check on their son... Not nothing. He worried constantly. Morning, noon and night.

"Berwald?"

Berwald jumped at the sound of his name, turning quickly to face a worried-faced Mathias who held a steaming styrofoam cup in his hand.

"Berwald?" He seemed hesitant.

"Ja?"

"I... I brought ya coffee."

"Thank you."

"Berwald. You need to get some rest."

"Beg pardon?"

"Please buddy." Mathias sighed. "I speak to you as a friend not as a fellow assassian or rival."

"I... I can't. Tino-"

"I know." Mathias gently placed a hand on the Swede's back. "Tino's near death experience had all of us scared too. But the doctor's not sure when Tino will wake."

"I know..." Berwald heaved a sigh. "I'm to blame..."

"No you're not." Mathias chidded gently. "None of us expected this. And funny enough we were trained to think of such things."

"Hmm."

"Please Berwald. Go home and get some rest." Mathias pleaded gently. "We can have Ludwig look after him for us..."

"I can't do that..."

"Please Berwald. You're scaring some of us."

"I don't care." Berwald replied, his grip on Tino's hand tighting. "I- He needs me."

"Your son needs you too." Mathias argued. "Poor kid doesn't know what's going on, his 'mama' isn't home and his papa refuses to come home. Berwald, he's only 5."

"I understand that." Berwald replied. "But Tino..."

"I understand too." Mathias replied gently, placing his hand on the Swede's back. "But there are other things that need you too. I'm sure Ludwig will tell us if Finny's condition changes."

"Maybe... Maybe you're right."

"I am?"

"I... I should return home... Home to my son."

"There ya go." Mathias beamed. "Peter's gonna like that."

"Indeed. Is it possible?"

"Hmm?"

"Is it possible that... I try one last time?"

"You'll be coming back tomorrow." Mathias sighed. "But what the heck."

Berwald smiled and turned back to his motionless 'wife'. "Tino?"

He gently reached out and stroked the unconscious male's face as Mathias smiled gently. He really did feel bad for the Swedish man. He had such high hopes for the Summer that only ended up dashed in the end with Tino teetering the border of life or death.

"Tino... Please wake up."

No response.

"Berwald..."

"Try and wake up..." He was close to tears now. He hung his head in order to hide the foul things. "For me."

Mathias blinked. Did Tino's hand just twitch?

"Did you-"

"Please."

"Berwald..." Mathias gasped as Tino's eyelids began to move. "I... I think he's coming to!"

"What?" Berwald's head snapped up. "Tino? Tino? Can you hear me?"

Tino let out a small moan as he slowly opened his eyes. Mathias and Berwald couldn't help the smiles on their faces as they watched their friend regain consciousness. Tears flowed freely down their faces.

"Yes."

The one word slipped past the Fin's lips and he was suddenly scooped into a pair of strong arms. Berwald and Mathias couldn't stop the tears as the Swedish man held the love of life in his hands, thanking whatever gods that could hear him for this wondrous miracle.

"Berwald... Please." Tino rasped behind the oxygen mask. "I can't breathe."

"Ja, of course." Berwald lessened his hold slightly.

"Finny, you're okay!" Mathias replied through his own batch of tears. "Y-You're okay."

Tino smiled weakly. "I guess so."

Mathias ignored him as whipped out his cellphone and began pressing random buttons until-

"GUYS! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!" He practically shouted into the small device. "TINO'S WOKEN UP! HE'S FINALLY WOKEN UP!"

* * *

/B

**So tired...**


	19. Recovery

The minute the word of Tino's return to world had reached their ears, Tino was suddenly shocked and surprised on how many people his hospital room could suddenly fit. They all crowded around Tino's bed, in tears or in great relief to see the Finnish man alive and well. Many brought presents while others pulled the poor Fin into tight hugs.

"MAMA MAMA!"

Peter escaped Feliciano's hands as he ran toward his 'mother' and hopped into the bed, right into the Fin's outstretched hands.

"OH PETER!" Tino cried hugging the small child tightly. "I missed you so much! I was so worried! I'm glad you're okay!"

"Mama mama I missed you too!" Peter giggled, returning his mother's hug.

"Tino." Berwald smiled, as tears began to form. "Tino... I'm-"

"BERWALD!" Tino cried, throwing one arm out to wrap around the Swede's neck and pull him close, lightly sobbing. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"I didn't either." Berwald responded, hugging the Fin tightly shedding tears of his own.

"Oh Tino, we're glad to see you're okay." Antonio smiled. "You had us all worried sick."

"How are ya feeling?" Mathias asked, smiling through his own tears.

"Tender but otherwise okay."

"That's good."

"Here." Lukas held out a small cup of water, giving the Fin a smile that was rare even for him. "You must be thirsty."

"Lukas." Tino felt his eyes sting as painful memories began to surface. "Oh Lukas..."

"What's wrong?" Lukas blinked, unsure of the Fin's reaction.

"I-I..." Tears began flowing, as a sob escaped his throat. "I-I-I'm so sorry..."

"Hmm?" Now he was perplexed as was everyone else.

"Tino... What's wrong?" Berwald asked, patting his arm gently.

"E-Emil."

"Emil?"

"Where is he now that I think about it?" Antonio asked with his sunny smile, looking around.

"Tino..." Lukas asked gently. "What happened to Emil?"

"He-He- Oh God... I killed him!" Tino wailed, bursting into tears. "Troy- He- Emil and I attempted an escape-"

"Tino..."

"But then Troy- Emil knocked him out for a short moment-"

"Tino.."

"He woke up and- and he-" Tino was hysterical. "He chased us-"

"Tino..."

"He shot me... Then- then-"

"Then what?"

"You're not helping, Antonio..."

"I just want to know what happens..."

"Not. Helping."

"H-h-he chased Emil in-into the woods, and shot him dead and buried him!" Tino screamed. "I'm so sorry Lukas!"

"Tino..." Lukas whispered gently. "Tino... Look at me."

After a few shakey sobs and breaths, Tino looked up into the stoic dark blue eyes as he held his oblivious 'son' close to him and tighting his grip on his lover's hand. Tino began to mentally prepare himself for Lukas' 'I'll-never-forgive-you' rant.

"I have something to show you."

"What?"

Tino blinked completely thrown off at Lukas' words. They weren't ones he was expecting. Seeing that Tino was unconvinced, Lukas looked over his shoulder and nodded.

"Tino, someone came here to see you."

"Wha-"

"Hey."

Tino blinked at the quiet voice as none other than Emil Steilsson stepped into the room himself. Other then being covered in bandages and his broken arm held in a cast and held up by a sling, he looked perfectly fine.

"E... Emil...?" His name ghosted past the shocked Fin's lips. "But that... That can't be..."

"I survived the shot Tino." Emil smiled. "I don't understand how either, but none of it matters..."

"That's how we were able to track you down and save you." Ludwig added. "He told us everything he knew about his and your captor."

"Emil.."

"Even though he barely knew the bastard barely 12 hours, he was able to help us trick him into exposing himself to us." Ivan smiled as he hugged Yao close.

"Don't cry Tino." Lukas whispered, brushing his thumb across the wet cheek. "I'm not mad at you. I would never be mad at you. If Emil was killed, I would be mad at myself and the asshole that would have killed him."

Tino smiled as tears still continued to flow, as he reached to wipe one away, he blinked. Then, it dawned on him.

"What happened to Troy?"

Everyone fell silent, completely caught off-guard by the Fin's sweet nature toward the man that nearly killed him. None moved nor spoke. Tino felt scared.

"What happened to him?" Tino asked.

"He's dead, Tino." Arthur sighed. "I-"

"No..." Tino whispered. "Oh..."

"Tino, how can you say that?" Mathias asked, clearly shocked. "He raped you, tortured you and damn well nearly killed you."

"I know-"

"Then why do you defend him?" asked Eduard, confused as he held his P.D.A close to his chest. "He was nothing short of a monster, Tino..."

"I-I-I know." the little Fin stuttered. "But-"

"No buts, Tino." Berwald answered. "He has down enough to have gotten him the death warrent from the Vigilum. He had to pay."

"Speaking of the 'Vigilum'..." Tino's eyes narrowed slightly.

Berwald gulped. He knew he had this coming.

"What it that? I demand to know since it damn well almost got me killed."

Berwald sighed. "It's... It's a long story..."

"I've got time..."

Another sigh then, "Very well."

* * *

**Ta-Dah! Chapter 19!**

**Now no one can say I owe them anything :3**


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